Hedge Funds Are Selling Ingram Micro Inc. (IM): Peerless Systems Corp. (PRLS), SED International Holdings, Inc. (SED)

Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE:IM) was in 17 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. IM shareholders have witnessed a decrease in hedge fund sentiment in recent months. There were 21 hedge funds in our database with IM positions at the end of the previous quarter.

To most traders, hedge funds are assumed to be underperforming, outdated investment vehicles of the past. While there are more than 8000 funds with their doors open at present, we at Insider Monkey choose to focus on the masters of this club, about 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group controls the lion’s share of the smart money’s total capital, and by keeping an eye on their best stock picks, we have revealed a few investment strategies that have historically outpaced the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced 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 25 percentage points in 6.5 month (explore the details and some picks here).

Equally as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are lots of reasons for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if you understand where to look (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the recent action surrounding Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE:IM).

What does the smart money think about Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE:IM)?

At year’s end, a total of 17 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -19% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.

According to our comprehensive database, Lakewood Capital Management, managed by Anthony Bozza, holds the biggest position in Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE:IM). Lakewood Capital Management has a $93 million position in the stock, comprising 7.3% of its 13F portfolio. On Lakewood Capital Management’s heels is International Value Advisers, managed by Charles de Vaulx, which held a $82 million position; the fund has 1.8% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers with similar optimism include Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue Management, Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

Because Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE:IM) has experienced bearish sentiment from the smart money, logic holds that there was a specific group of hedge funds that elected to cut their positions entirely at the end of the year. It’s worth mentioning that Mark Travis’s Intrepid Capital Management cut the largest investment of the 450+ funds we key on, valued at close to $22 million in stock., and Ken Gray and Steve Walsh of Bryn Mawr Capital was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $13 million worth. These moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 4 funds at the end of the year.

What have insiders been doing with Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE:IM)?

Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time period, Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE:IM) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 9 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE:IM). These stocks are Peerless Systems Corp. (NASDAQ:PRLS), SED International Holdings, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:SED), Wayside Technology Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSTG), Navarre Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVR), and Tech Data Corp (NASDAQ:TECD). This group of stocks are in the computers wholesale industry and their market caps resemble IM’s market cap.

With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s studies, retail investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE:IM) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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