Hedge Funds Are Selling Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (VAC)

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC) was in 15 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. VAC investors should be aware of a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently. There were 16 hedge funds in our database with VAC positions at the end of the previous quarter.

To most market participants, hedge funds are viewed as worthless, outdated investment vehicles of the past. While there are over 8000 funds in operation today, we at Insider Monkey choose to focus on the moguls of this club, close to 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group oversees most of the smart money’s total asset base, and by paying attention to their highest performing stock picks, we have uncovered a few investment strategies that have historically beaten Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see the details here).

Equally as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the stock market universe. There are a variety of incentives for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if you understand where to look (learn more here).

Now, let’s take a look at the recent action regarding Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC).

How are hedge funds trading Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -6% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Jeffrey Tannenbaum’s Fir Tree had the most valuable position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC), worth close to $63.5 million, comprising 1.2% of its total 13F portfolio. On Fir Tree’s heels is Steven Cohen of SAC Capital Advisors, with a $52.5 million position; the fund has 0.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that hold long positions include SAC Subsidiary’s Sigma Capital Management, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital and Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors.

Seeing as Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC) has witnessed falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there were a few money managers that elected to cut their positions entirely last quarter. At the top of the heap, Michael Doheny’s Freshford Capital Management dumped the biggest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, worth about $11.4 million in stock., and Mark Broach of Manatuck Hill Partners was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $2.1 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds last quarter.

How are insiders trading Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest 180-day time period, Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC) has seen 1 unique insiders buying, and 6 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 Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC). These stocks are Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD), Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc (NYSE:PNK), Ameristar Casinos, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASCA), Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN), and Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR). This group of stocks belong to the resorts & casinos industry and their market caps are closest to VAC’s market cap.

With the results shown by our research, retail investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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