At the moment, there are plenty of indicators investors can use to monitor their holdings. A duo of the most useful 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 elite investment managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a superb amount (see just how much).
Just as integral, positive insider trading activity is another way to break down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of motivations for a corporate insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a look at the recent action encompassing Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA).
Hedge fund activity in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)
In preparation for this year, a total of 23 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -8% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.
Of the funds we track, Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue Management had the largest position in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA), worth close to $76 million, accounting for 1.6% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is John Brennan of Sirios Capital Management, with a $46 million position; 0.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.
Judging by the fact that Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) has experienced falling interest from the smart money, logic holds that there were a few hedge funds who were dropping their positions entirely at the end of the year. Intriguingly, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies dropped the biggest position of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, worth close to $27 million in stock.. John Murphy’s fund, Alydar Capital, also dumped its stock, about $25 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds at the end of the year.
How are insiders trading Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns demonstrated by our tactics, everyday investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) is an important part of this process.
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