In today’s marketplace, there are dozens of methods market participants can use to track Mr. Market. Two of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can outpace the broader indices by a superb amount (see just how much).
Equally as key, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to analyze the marketplace. As the old adage goes: there are many stimuli for a bullish insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).
Thus, it’s important to study the newest info surrounding Manulife Financial Corporation (USA) (NYSE:MFC).
Hedge fund activity in Manulife Financial Corporation (USA) (NYSE:MFC)
Heading into Q3, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 17% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.
Out of the hedge funds we follow, Tetrem Capital Management, managed by Daniel Bubis, holds the largest position in Manulife Financial Corporation (USA) (NYSE:MFC). Tetrem Capital Management has a $70.4 million position in the stock, comprising 2.4% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Arrowstreet Capital, managed by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, which held a $19.9 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other peers with similar optimism include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s Algert Coldiron Investors.
Now, certain money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Tetrem Capital Management, managed by Daniel Bubis, established the most outsized position in Manulife Financial Corporation (USA) (NYSE:MFC). Tetrem Capital Management had 70.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital also initiated a $19.9 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, and Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s Algert Coldiron Investors.
How have insiders been trading Manulife Financial Corporation (USA) (NYSE:MFC)?
Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time frame, Manulife Financial Corporation (USA) (NYSE:MFC) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Manulife Financial Corporation (USA) (NYSE:MFC). These stocks are Sun Life Financial Inc. (USA) (NYSE:SLF), Metlife Inc (NYSE:MET), Prudential Public Limited Company (ADR) (NYSE:PUK), ING Groep N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:ING), and Prudential Financial Inc (NYSE:PRU). This group of stocks are the members of the life insurance industry and their market caps resemble MFC’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Sun Life Financial Inc. (USA) (NYSE:SLF) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Metlife Inc (NYSE:MET) | 55 | 0 | 0 |
| Prudential Public Limited Company (ADR) (NYSE:PUK) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| ING Groep N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:ING) | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| Prudential Financial Inc (NYSE:PRU) | 31 | 0 | 0 |
Using the results demonstrated by the previously mentioned tactics, regular investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Manulife Financial Corporation (USA) (NYSE:MFC) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
