Is Nielsen Hldg NV (NYSE:NLSN) undervalued? Investors who are in the know are turning less bullish. The number of bullish hedge fund positions stayed the same which is a slightly negative development in our experience
At the moment, there are tons of metrics investors can use to monitor the equity markets. Some of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top investment managers can outpace the market by a solid amount (see just how much).
Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the financial markets. Obviously, there are lots of stimuli for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a peek at the recent action encompassing Nielsen Hldg NV (NYSE:NLSN).
How are hedge funds trading Nielsen Hldg NV (NYSE:NLSN)?
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 20 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Eric Mindich’s Eton Park Capital had the most valuable position in Nielsen Hldg NV (NYSE:NLSN), worth close to $286.6 million, accounting for 5.7% of its total 13F portfolio. On Eton Park Capital’s heels is David Blood and Al Gore of Generation Investment Management, with a $250.4 million position; 5.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedgies with similar optimism include Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management, J Kevin Kenny Jr’s Emerging Sovereign Group and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Seeing as Nielsen Hldg NV (NYSE:NLSN) has experienced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of fund managers that elected to cut their full holdings last quarter. Intriguingly, Kenney Y. Oh’s SeaStone Capital Management cut the largest stake of the 450+ funds we monitor, totaling close to $29.2 million in stock., and Jean-Marie Eveillard of First Eagle Investment Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $27.5 million worth. These moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
Insider trading activity in Nielsen Hldg NV (NYSE:NLSN)
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time period, Nielsen Hldg NV (NYSE:NLSN) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 22 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Nielsen Hldg NV (NYSE:NLSN). These stocks are Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN), Dun & Bradstreet Corp (NYSE:DNB), FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS), Thomson Reuters Corporation (USA) (NYSE:TRI), and IHS Inc. (NYSE:IHS). This group of stocks are in the information & delivery services industry and their market caps are closest to NLSN’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Dun & Bradstreet Corp (NYSE:DNB) | 14 | 0 | 3 |
| FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) | 17 | 0 | 7 |
| Thomson Reuters Corporation (USA) (NYSE:TRI) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| IHS Inc. (NYSE:IHS) | 12 | 1 | 10 |
With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned studies, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Nielsen Hldg NV (NYSE:NLSN) is an important part of this process.
