Dun & Bradstreet Corp (NYSE:DNB) was in 14 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. DNB has seen a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with DNB positions at the end of the previous quarter.
In today’s marketplace, there are tons of indicators market participants can use to monitor Mr. Market. A pair of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best hedge fund managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a significant amount (see just how much).
Equally as important, positive insider trading activity is another way to parse down the financial markets. Just as you’d expect, there are lots of motivations for a bullish insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a look at the recent action encompassing Dun & Bradstreet Corp (NYSE:DNB).
How have hedgies been trading Dun & Bradstreet Corp (NYSE:DNB)?
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -7% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Chieftain Capital, managed by John Shapiro, holds the largest position in Dun & Bradstreet Corp (NYSE:DNB). Chieftain Capital has a $143.9 million position in the stock, comprising 10.2% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Ariel Investments, managed by John W. Rogers, which held a $86.5 million position; 1.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedgies that hold long positions include John Ku’s Manor Road Capital Partners, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.
Since Dun & Bradstreet Corp (NYSE:DNB) has witnessed bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there exists a select few fund managers who were dropping their full holdings in Q1. At the top of the heap, Charles Davidson’s Wexford Capital said goodbye to the biggest stake of all the hedgies we key on, worth an estimated $11.8 million in stock.. Matthew Tewksbury’s fund, Stevens Capital Management, also sold off its stock, about $3.2 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds in Q1.
How are insiders trading Dun & Bradstreet Corp (NYSE:DNB)?
Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time period, Dun & Bradstreet Corp (NYSE:DNB) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Dun & Bradstreet Corp (NYSE:DNB). These stocks are DigitalGlobe Inc (NYSE:DGI), FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS), Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR), DST Systems, Inc. (NYSE:DST), and Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN). This group of stocks belong to the information & delivery services industry and their market caps are similar to DNB’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| DigitalGlobe Inc (NYSE:DGI) | 33 | 0 | 4 |
| FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) | 17 | 0 | 7 |
| Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) | 14 | 0 | 9 |
| DST Systems, Inc. (NYSE:DST) | 23 | 1 | 7 |
| Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
With the returns shown by Insider Monkey’s studies, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Dun & Bradstreet Corp (NYSE:DNB) applies perfectly to this mantra.
