Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love PACCAR Inc (PCAR)?

PACCAR Inc (NASDAQ:PCAR) was in 16 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. PCAR has experienced a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money of late. There were 22 hedge funds in our database with PCAR holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

At the moment, there are tons of indicators market participants can use to monitor Mr. Market. A duo of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best hedge fund managers can trounce the broader indices by a superb amount (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the world of equities. Obviously, there are a variety of incentives for a corporate insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if investors understand what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a look at the key action encompassing PACCAR Inc (NASDAQ:PCAR).

What does the smart money think about PACCAR Inc (NASDAQ:PCAR)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 16 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -27% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.

According to our comprehensive database, Legg Mason Capital Management, managed by Bill Miller, holds the largest position in PACCAR Inc (NASDAQ:PCAR). Legg Mason Capital Management has a $69.7 million position in the stock, comprising 1.2% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Crispin Odey of Odey Asset Management Group, with a $46.1 million position; the fund has 1.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors, Thomas A. Giovine’s Giovine Capital and Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management.

Since PACCAR Inc (NASDAQ:PCAR) has witnessed declining sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s safe to say that there was a specific group of hedgies that elected to cut their entire stakes at the end of the first quarter. Interestingly, Robert Joseph Caruso’s Select Equity Group cut the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, comprising close to $50.8 million in call options. Israel Englander’s fund, Millennium Management, also said goodbye to its call options., about $15.9 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 6 funds at the end of the first quarter.

How are insiders trading PACCAR Inc (NASDAQ:PCAR)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time period, PACCAR Inc (NASDAQ:PCAR) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to PACCAR Inc (NASDAQ:PCAR). These stocks are Accuride Corporation (NYSE:ACW), Wabash National Corporation (NYSE:WNC), Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc (NYSE:HY), Navistar International Corp (NYSE:NAV), and Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK). This group of stocks are the members of the trucks & other vehicles industry and their market caps are similar to PCAR’s market cap.