Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (SIAL)?

Should Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ:SIAL) investors track the following data?

To the average investor, there are tons of gauges market participants can use to track their holdings. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can trounce their index-focused peers by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Equally as key, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to look at the world of equities. There are lots of incentives for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, let’s examine the latest info surrounding Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ:SIAL).

What does the smart money think about Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ:SIAL)?

At the end of the second quarter, a total of 21 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 40% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.

Out of the hedge funds we follow, Yacktman Asset Management, managed by Donald Yacktman, holds the most valuable position in Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ:SIAL). Yacktman Asset Management has a $194.5 million position in the stock, comprising 0.9% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is PEAK6 Capital Management, managed by Matthew Hulsizer, which held a $63.4 million call position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Brian Taylor’s Pine River Capital Management, Robert Joseph Caruso’s Select Equity Group and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

As one would understandably expect, certain money managers were breaking ground themselves. Yacktman Asset Management, managed by Donald Yacktman, created the largest position in Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ:SIAL). Yacktman Asset Management had 194.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management also made a $63.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new SIAL investors: Brian Taylor’s Pine River Capital Management, Robert Joseph Caruso’s Select Equity Group, and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ:SIAL)?

Insider buying made by high-level executives is best served when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time period, Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ:SIAL) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also review the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ:SIAL). These stocks are The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL), Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB), W.R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA), International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF), and Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK). All of these stocks are in the specialty chemicals industry and their market caps are closest to SIAL’s market cap.

Using the returns explained by the previously mentioned strategies, average investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ:SIAL) is no exception.

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