Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) was in 14 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. FRT has seen a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months. There were 14 hedge funds in our database with FRT positions at the end of the previous quarter.
In today’s marketplace, there are many methods market participants can use to monitor Mr. Market. A duo of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite money managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a significant margin (see just how much).
Equally as key, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are lots of stimuli for a bullish insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Various academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if you understand what to do (learn more here).
Consequently, we’re going to take a peek at the recent action surrounding Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT).
How have hedgies been trading Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.
Due to the fact that Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) has experienced a declination in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there was a specific group of funds who sold off their positions entirely last quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Thomas Bailard’s Bailard Inc cut the biggest position of the 450+ funds we watch, totaling about $1 million in stock., and Robert B. Gillam of McKinley Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $0.5 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT)?
Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last 180-day time period, Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT). These stocks are Kimco Realty Corp (NYSE:KIM), DDR Corp (NYSE:DDR), Macerich Co (NYSE:MAC), Realty Income Corp (NYSE:O), and SL Green Realty Corp (NYSE:SLG). All of these stocks are in the reit – retail industry and their market caps resemble FRT’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Kimco Realty Corp (NYSE:KIM) | 9 | 0 | 6 |
| DDR Corp (NYSE:DDR) | 11 | 0 | 6 |
| Macerich Co (NYSE:MAC) | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Realty Income Corp (NYSE:O) | 9 | 0 | 10 |
| SL Green Realty Corp (NYSE:SLG) | 10 | 0 | 8 |
With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s studies, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) is an important part of this process.
