Hedge Funds Are Selling Progress Software Corporation (PRGS): NIC Inc. (EGOV), Advent Software, Inc. (ADVS)

Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately.

At the moment, there are a multitude of gauges investors can use to analyze their holdings. Some of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best investment managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a very impressive margin (see just how much).

Equally as important, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the financial markets. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of incentives for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if “monkeys” know where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, it’s important to take a peek at the recent action surrounding Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS).

What does the smart money think about Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -7% from the third quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially.

Of the funds we track, Starboard Value LP, managed by Jeffrey Smith, holds the most valuable position in Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS). Starboard Value LP has a $87.9 million position in the stock, comprising 10% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Mariko Gordon of Daruma Asset Management, with a $48.7 million position; the fund has 2.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue Management, Brett Hendrickson’s Nokomis Capital and Gregg J. Powers’s Private Capital Management.

Seeing as Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS) has experienced a declination in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there is a sect of money managers who sold off their positions entirely heading into 2013. It’s worth mentioning that Anthony Bozza’s Lakewood Capital Management dropped the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, worth about $0.9 million in stock., and Mike Vranos of Ellington was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $0.5 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds heading into 2013.

Insider trading activity in Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS)

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time frame, Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS). These stocks are RealPage, Inc. (NASDAQ:RP), Manhattan Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ:MANH), Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNCR), Advent Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADVS), and NIC Inc. (NASDAQ:EGOV). This group of stocks are in the application software industry and their market caps resemble PRGS’s market cap.

With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s strategies, retail investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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