In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are dozens of indicators investors can use to analyze stocks. Two of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top money managers can outclass the broader indices by a very impressive amount (see just how much).
Just as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the world of equities. Obviously, there are a number of stimuli for an upper level exec to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if you know where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a glance at the recent action regarding Healthcare Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:HR).
Hedge fund activity in Healthcare Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:HR)
In preparation for this year, a total of 5 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -64% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.
Of the funds we track, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management had the biggest position in Healthcare Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:HR), worth close to $6.6 million, comprising less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, with a $5.4 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley’s Polar Capital and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Judging by the fact that Healthcare Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:HR) has witnessed a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there is a sect of hedgies that elected to cut their positions entirely heading into 2013. It’s worth mentioning that Brian Taylor’s Pine River Capital Management sold off the biggest investment of all the hedgies we key on, totaling close to $7 million in stock., and Clint Carlson of Carlson Capital was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $4.5 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 9 funds heading into 2013.
Insider trading activity in Healthcare Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:HR)
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time period, Healthcare Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:HR) has seen 1 unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Healthcare Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:HR). These stocks are LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC), National Health Investors Inc (NYSE:NHI), Omega Healthcare Investors Inc (NYSE:OHI), Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW), and Healthcare Trust Of America Inc (NYSE:HTA). This group of stocks are in the reit – healthcare facilities industry and their market caps resemble HR’s market cap.
