United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) was in 46 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. UTX shareholders have witnessed an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months. There were 44 hedge funds in our database with UTX holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In today’s marketplace, there are tons of metrics market participants can use to analyze publicly traded companies. Two of the best 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 top hedge fund managers can trounce the broader indices by a healthy amount (see just how much).
Just as important, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the marketplace. There are a number of reasons for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the key action regarding United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX).
How have hedgies been trading United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX)?
At year’s end, a total of 46 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 5% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Fisher Asset Management, managed by Ken Fisher, holds the biggest position in United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX). Fisher Asset Management has a $466 million billion position in the stock, comprising 1.3% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Diamond Hill Capital, managed by Ric Dillon, which held a $254 million position; 1.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedge funds with similar optimism include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Lee Ainslie’s Maverick Capital and Bill Miller’s Legg Mason Capital Management.
As aggregate interest increased, some big names have jumped into United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) headfirst. Ascend Capital, managed by Malcolm Fairbairn, created the largest position in United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX). Ascend Capital had 38 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Alexander Mitchell’s Scopus Asset Management also made a $26 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management, Stephen J. Errico’s Locust Wood Capital Advisers, and Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time period, United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 15 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s studies, retail investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) is no exception.
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