The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was in 56 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. PG has experienced an increase in hedge fund sentiment in recent months. There were 53 hedge funds in our database with PG positions at the end of the previous quarter.
At the moment, there are a multitude of indicators investors can use to watch their holdings. A pair of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite investment managers can beat the market by a superb amount (see just how much).
Equally as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the financial markets. Just as you’d expect, there are plenty of motivations for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).
Now, it’s important to take a peek at the key action encompassing The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG).
How are hedge funds trading The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 56 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 6% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.
Of the funds we track, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway had the largest position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), worth close to $3.584 billion, accounting for 4.8% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Bill Ackman of Pershing Square, with a $1.897 position; the fund has 20.7% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Donald Yacktman’s Yacktman Asset Management, and Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Columbus Circle Investors, managed by Donald Chiboucis, established the biggest position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG). Columbus Circle Investors had 139 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates also made a $18 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Stephen J. Errico’s Locust Wood Capital Advisers, Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group, and Eliav Assouline and Marc Andersen’s Axial Capital.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time period, The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the results demonstrated by our research, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) is an important part of this process.
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