Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) was in 24 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. CCI has experienced a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money recently. There were 26 hedge funds in our database with CCI positions at the end of the previous quarter.
According to most shareholders, hedge funds are viewed as worthless, old investment vehicles of the past. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open at the moment, we at Insider Monkey look at the elite of this group, close to 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group oversees the lion’s share of the hedge fund industry’s total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their best picks, we have found a few investment strategies that have historically outstripped Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outpaced the S&P 500 index by 25 percentage points in 6.5 month (see all of our picks from August).
Consequently, it’s important to take a peek at the latest action regarding Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI).
How are hedge funds trading Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI)?
At year’s end, a total of 24 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -8% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.
Of the funds we track, SPO Advisory Corp, managed by John H. Scully, holds the largest position in Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI). SPO Advisory Corp has a $670 million position in the stock, comprising 10.5% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Michael Larson of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, with a $385 million position; 1.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other peers that are bullish include Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global, Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital and Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management.
Due to the fact that Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) has faced falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there was a specific group of fund managers that elected to cut their full holdings last quarter. Intriguingly, Louis Navellier’s Navellier & Associates sold off the biggest position of all the hedgies we watch, comprising an estimated $47 million in stock.. Ray Dalio’s fund, Bridgewater Associates, also dumped its stock, about $6 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds last quarter.
What have insiders been doing with Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns shown by our strategies, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) is no exception.
Click here to learn more about Insider Monkey’s Hedge Fund Newsletter
Insider Monkey’s small-cap strategy returned 29.2% between September 2012 and February 2013 versus 8.7% for the S&P 500 index. Try it now by clicking the link above.
