Hedge Funds Are Buying Comcast Corporation (CMCSA)

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was in 55 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. CMCSA investors should be aware of an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late. There were 46 hedge funds in our database with CMCSA holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

At the moment, there are many metrics investors can use to watch their holdings. Some of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite hedge fund managers can beat the market by a solid amount (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, positive insider trading activity is another way to parse down the world of equities. Obviously, there are a number of motivations for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a gander at the latest action encompassing Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA).

What does the smart money think about Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 55 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 20% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Paul Ruddock and Steve Heinz’s Lansdowne Partners had the biggest position in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), worth close to $643.8 million, comprising 8.8% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Andreas Halvorsen of Viking Global, with a $629.1 million position; the fund has 3.8% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds that are bullish include Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management, John Armitage’s Egerton Capital Limited and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Blue Ridge Capital, managed by John Griffin, created the most outsized position in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA). Blue Ridge Capital had 191 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. James Crichton and Adam Weiss’s Scout Capital Management also made a $125.9 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new CMCSA investors: Chase Coleman and Feroz Dewan’s Tiger Global Management LLC, John Thaler’s JAT Capital Management, and David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management LP.

What have insiders been doing with Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)?

Insider buying is most useful when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time period, Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA). These stocks are Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA), Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA), Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC), Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB), and DIRECTV (NASDAQ:DTV). This group of stocks belong to the catv systems industry and their market caps resemble CMCSA’s market cap.

With the returns shown by Insider Monkey’s studies, everyday investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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