Fidelity National Information Services (FIS): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund sentiment recently. An important thing is that Sterne Agee this morning announced about decreasing Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS)’s rank.

To the average investor, there are tons of metrics market participants can use to analyze their holdings. A duo 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 top money managers can outpace the market by a very impressive margin (see just how much).

Equally as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of motivations for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if investors know where to look (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a look at the key action regarding Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS).

What have hedge funds been doing with Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 35 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 25% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Eagle Capital Management, managed by Boykin Curry, holds the most valuable position in Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS). Eagle Capital Management has a $275.5 million position in the stock, comprising 2% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Larry Robbins of Glenview Capital, with a $193.5 million position; the fund has 2.7% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Alan Fournier’s Pennant Capital Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Thomas Steyer’s Farallon Capital.

As one would reasonably expect, some big names were breaking ground themselves. Maverick Capital, managed by Lee Ainslie, assembled the most valuable position in Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS). Maverick Capital had 101.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Chase Coleman and Feroz Dewan’s Tiger Global Management LLC also initiated a $40.9 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Sean Cullinan’s Point State Capital, Bruce Kovner’s Caxton Associates LP, and Curtis Macnguyen’s Ivory Capital (Investment Mgmt).

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS)?

Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS). These stocks are FleetCor Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:FLT), Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE:ADS), Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK), Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO), and Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV). This group of stocks belong to the business services industry and their market caps are closest to FIS’s market cap.

With the results exhibited by our strategies, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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