The government requires hedge funds and wealthy investors with over a certain portfolio size to file a report that shows their positions at the end of every quarter. Even though it isn’t the intention, these filings level the playing field for ordinary investors. The latest round of 13F filings discloses the funds’ positions on September 30. We at Insider Monkey have made an extensive database of more than 700 of those elite funds and prominent investors’ filings. In this article, we analyze how these elite funds and prominent investors traded Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) based on those filings.
Is Comerica Incorporated worth your attention right now? Prominent investors are getting more bullish. The number of bullish hedge fund positions advanced by 1 in recent months. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity, but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc (NYSE:SC), Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE:VAR), and Fortinet Inc (NASDAQ:FTNT) to gather more data points.
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In today’s marketplace there are several signals that stock traders employ to appraise stocks. Two of the less utilized signals are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can trounce the market by a superb margin (see the details here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a glance at the fresh action surrounding Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA).
What have hedge funds been doing with Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)?
Heading into Q4, a total of 40 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, inching up by 3% from the second quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management has the largest position in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA), worth close to $145.4 million, accounting for 0.3% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Third Avenue Management, managed by Martin Whitman, which holds a $106.5 million position; the fund has 2.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other members of the smart money that are bullish encompass Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Consequently, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, initiated the largest position in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA). The fund had $61.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies also made a $38.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new CMA investors: Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management, Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management, and Ken Gray and Steve Walsh’s Bryn Mawr Capital.
Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA). We will take a look at Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc (NYSE:SC), Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE:VAR), Fortinet Inc (NASDAQ:FTNT), and Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE:QSR). This group of stocks’ market valuations are similar to CMA’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| SC | 35 | 1044651 | 0 |
| VAR | 27 | 472014 | 5 |
| FTNT | 36 | 370618 | 10 |
| QSR | 29 | 2448593 | -8 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 32 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1.08 billion. That figure was $746 million in CMA’s case. Fortinet Inc (NASDAQ:FTNT) is the most popular stock in this table, while Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE:VAR) is at the other end of the specter with only 27 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.
