Hedge Funds Are Betting On Tumi Holdings Inc (TUMI)

Tumi Holdings Inc (NYSE:TUMI) shareholders have witnessed an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months.

At the moment, there are plenty of metrics investors can use to track publicly traded companies. Two of the most under-the-radar 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 fund managers can outclass the market by a significant amount (see just how much).

Equally as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are lots of incentives for an upper level exec to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if “monkeys” know where to look (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a gander at the latest action regarding Tumi Holdings Inc (NYSE:TUMI).

How are hedge funds trading Tumi Holdings Inc (NYSE:TUMI)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 17 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 70% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Panayotis Takis Sparaggis’s Alkeon Capital Management had the biggest position in Tumi Holdings Inc (NYSE:TUMI), worth close to $49.8 million, comprising 1.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Drew Cupps of Cupps Capital Management, with a $7.9 million position; the fund has 0.8% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that are bullish include Jeffrey Vinik’s Vinik Asset Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Brian Taylor’s Pine River Capital Management.

Now, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Pine River Capital Management, managed by Brian Taylor, established the most outsized position in Tumi Holdings Inc (NYSE:TUMI). Pine River Capital Management had 4.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management also initiated a $4.4 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new TUMI positions are Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, and Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management.

How have insiders been trading Tumi Holdings Inc (NYSE:TUMI)?

Insider buying is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time period, Tumi Holdings Inc (NYSE:TUMI) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Tumi Holdings Inc (NYSE:TUMI). These stocks are Deckers Outdoor Corp (NASDAQ:DECK), Steven Madden, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SHOO), Skechers USA Inc (NYSE:SKX), Iconix Brand Group Inc (NASDAQ:ICON), and Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX). This group of stocks belong to the textile – apparel footwear & accessories industry and their market caps resemble TUMI’s market cap.

With the returns shown by our research, retail investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Tumi Holdings Inc (NYSE:TUMI) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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