Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ:ACXM) was in 15 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. ACXM investors should be aware of a decrease in hedge fund sentiment lately. There were 20 hedge funds in our database with ACXM positions at the end of the previous quarter.
To most investors, hedge funds are viewed as underperforming, old investment tools of the past. While there are greater than 8000 funds in operation at the moment, we at Insider Monkey choose to focus on the top tier of this club, around 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group controls the majority of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by paying attention to their best stock picks, we have uncovered 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 a year 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 outperformed the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (explore the details and some picks here).
Equally as important, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the world of equities. There are lots of motivations for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).
Consequently, let’s take a look at the latest action encompassing Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ:ACXM).
How are hedge funds trading Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ:ACXM)?
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -25% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Mariko Gordon’s Daruma Asset Management had the most valuable position in Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ:ACXM), worth close to $76.2 million, accounting for 3.9% of its total 13F portfolio. On Daruma Asset Management’s heels is Freshford Capital Management, managed by Michael Doheny, which held a $32.4 million position; 4.7% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other peers with similar optimism include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Thomas Ellis and Todd Hammer’s North Run Capital.
Due to the fact that Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ:ACXM) has experienced falling interest from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of hedgies who were dropping their entire stakes last quarter. At the top of the heap, Jason F. Harris’s Kendall Square Capital cut the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we track, totaling about $1.9 million in stock.. Israel Englander’s fund, Millennium Management, also dumped its stock, about $1.7 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 5 funds last quarter.
How have insiders been trading Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ:ACXM)?
Bullish insider trading is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time period, Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ:ACXM) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ:ACXM). These stocks are Radware Ltd. (NASDAQ:RDWR), Syntel, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYNT), Unisys Corporation (NYSE:UIS), EPAM Systems Inc (NYSE:EPAM), and iGATE Corporation (NASDAQ:IGTE). This group of stocks are in the information technology services industry and their market caps resemble ACXM’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Radware Ltd. (NASDAQ:RDWR) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Syntel, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYNT) | 11 | 0 | 6 |
| Unisys Corporation (NYSE:UIS) | 19 | 0 | 3 |
| EPAM Systems Inc (NYSE:EPAM) | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| iGATE Corporation (NASDAQ:IGTE) | 12 | 6 | 4 |
With the returns exhibited by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ:ACXM) is no exception.
