Hedge Funds Are Selling Janus Capital Group Inc (JNS)

Janus Capital Group Inc (NYSE:JNS) has seen a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months.

To most stock holders, hedge funds are perceived as slow, outdated investment vehicles of the past. While there are over 8000 funds in operation at present, we look at the top tier of this group, about 450 funds. It is estimated that this group controls most of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by tracking their best picks, we have deciphered a number of investment strategies that have historically outpaced Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per 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 trumped the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see all of our picks from August).

Just as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the marketplace. Obviously, there are a variety of motivations for a bullish insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if investors understand where to look (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a look at the key action regarding Janus Capital Group Inc (NYSE:JNS).

How have hedgies been trading Janus Capital Group Inc (NYSE:JNS)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, John W. Rogers’s Ariel Investments had the most valuable position in Janus Capital Group Inc (NYSE:JNS), worth close to $177.7 million, accounting for 3% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Fisher Asset Management, managed by Ken Fisher, which held a $62.4 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other peers that hold long positions include Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors, Donald Yacktman’s Yacktman Asset Management and Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates.

Because Janus Capital Group Inc (NYSE:JNS) has witnessed bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there is a sect of hedgies that decided to sell off their full holdings last quarter. Intriguingly, Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital cut the largest stake of all the hedgies we watch, comprising close to $1.7 million in stock. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

How have insiders been trading Janus Capital Group Inc (NYSE:JNS)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time frame, Janus Capital Group Inc (NYSE:JNS) has seen 1 unique insiders buying, and 5 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 Janus Capital Group Inc (NYSE:JNS). These stocks are Gamco Investors Inc. (NYSE:GBL), AllianceBernstein Holding LP (NYSE:AB), Virtus Investment Partners Inc (NASDAQ:VRTS), Cohen & Steers, Inc. (NYSE:CNS), and Financial Engines Inc (NASDAQ:FNGN). This group of stocks are the members of the asset management industry and their market caps are similar to JNS’s market cap.

With the results demonstrated by our strategies, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Janus Capital Group Inc (NYSE:JNS) is an important part of this process.

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