Hedge Funds Still Love Ford Motor Company (F)

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is a favorite among the biggest hedge fund managers because it provides a place to park their assets in a relatively high-upside investment vehicle. Shares are up over 25% year-to-date, and certain money managers have been partially behind this bullishness.

To the average investor, there are many methods investors can use to track the equity markets. Some of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best investment managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a healthy margin (see just how much).

Equally as crucial, positive insider trading activity is a second way to analyze the financial markets. There are a variety of reasons for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, we’re going to study the newest info for Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F).

How have hedgies been trading Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)?

At Q2’s end, a total of 48 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 2% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.

Out of the hedge funds we follow, Appaloosa Management LP, managed by David Tepper, holds the most valuable position in Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F). Appaloosa Management LP has a $161.8 million position in the stock, comprising 2.3% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Capital Growth Management, managed by Ken Heebner, which held a $151.9 million position; 4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other peers that hold long positions include Matt McLennan’s First Eagle Investment Management, Bill Miller’s Legg Mason Capital Management and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management.

With a general bullishness amongst the titans, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Appaloosa Management LP, managed by David Tepper, initiated the most valuable position in Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F). Appaloosa Management LP had 161.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Heebner’s Capital Growth Management also made a $151.9 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Matt McLennan’s First Eagle Investment Management, Bill Miller’s Legg Mason Capital Management, and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management.

Insider trading activity in Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)

Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 16 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F). These stocks are Tata Motors Limited (ADR) (NYSE:TTM), Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), Honda Motor Co Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:HMC), and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (ADR) (PINK:NSANY). This group of stocks belong to the auto manufacturers – major industry and their market caps resemble F’s market cap.

Using the results explained by the previously mentioned strategies, regular investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is no exception.

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