Here is What Hedge Funds Think About BEAM Inc (BEAM)

BEAM Inc (NYSE:BEAM) was in 36 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. BEAM investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund interest of late. There were 29 hedge funds in our database with BEAM holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In the financial world, there are many methods market participants can use to watch their holdings. Some 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 hedge fund managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a superb margin (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of stimuli for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a look at the recent action surrounding BEAM Inc (NYSE:BEAM).

How have hedgies been trading BEAM Inc (NYSE:BEAM)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 36 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 24% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.

Of the funds we track, Pershing Square, managed by Bill Ackman, holds the most valuable position in BEAM Inc (NYSE:BEAM). Pershing Square has a $1.3228 billion position in the stock, comprising 13.1% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Mario Gabelli of GAMCO Investors, with a $160.2 million position; the fund has 1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include Kenneth Mario Garschina’s Mason Capital Management, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and James Dinan’s York Capital Management.

As industrywide interest jumped, key money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Sandler Capital Management, managed by Andrew Sandler, created the most valuable position in BEAM Inc (NYSE:BEAM). Sandler Capital Management had 28.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Sean Cullinan’s Point State Capital also initiated a $24.4 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new BEAM positions are Larry Foley and Paul Farrell’s Bronson Point Partners, Mark Kingdon’s Kingdon Capital, and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital.

What have insiders been doing with BEAM Inc (NYSE:BEAM)?

Insider buying is most useful when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time period, BEAM Inc (NYSE:BEAM) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to BEAM Inc (NYSE:BEAM). These stocks are Central European Distribution Corp (NASDAQ:CEDC), Diageo plc (ADR) (NYSE:DEO), and Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ). This group of stocks are in the beverages – wineries & distillers industry and their market caps are similar to BEAM’s market cap.