Hedge Funds Are Betting On Legg Mason, Inc. (NYSE:LM)

Legg Mason, Inc. (NYSE:LM) has seen an increase in hedge fund interest in recent months.

In today’s marketplace, there are plenty of methods market participants can use to track their holdings. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite fund managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Equally as important, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the financial markets. Obviously, there are plenty of reasons for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).

Now, let’s take a glance at the recent action surrounding Legg Mason, Inc. (NYSE:LM).

How are hedge funds trading Legg Mason, Inc. (NYSE:LM)?

Heading into 2013, a total of 20 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 5% from the third quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Trian Partners, managed by Nelson Peltz, holds the most valuable position in Legg Mason, Inc. (NYSE:LM). Trian Partners has a $331 million position in the stock, comprising 14% of its 13F portfolio. On Trian Partners’s heels is Mario Gabelli of GAMCO Investors, with a $93 million position; 0.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital, Mason Hawkins’s Southeastern Asset Management and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Consequently, specific money managers have jumped into Legg Mason, Inc. (NYSE:LM) headfirst. Southeastern Asset Management, managed by Mason Hawkins, initiated the biggest position in Legg Mason, Inc. (NYSE:LM). Southeastern Asset Management had 68 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments also made a $0 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new lm position is Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Legg Mason, Inc. (NYSE:LM)?

Insider buying is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time period, Legg Mason, Inc. (NYSE:LM) has seen 1 unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the results shown by Insider Monkey’s studies, everyday investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Legg Mason, Inc. (NYSE:LM) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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