Is Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (ADR) (NYSE:KOF) a splendid investment today? The best stock pickers are becoming hopeful. The number of long hedge fund bets inched up by 2 lately.
To the average investor, there are tons of methods market participants can use to watch Mr. Market. Some of the most underrated 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 fund managers can beat the broader indices by a very impressive amount (see just how much).
Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are a variety of reasons for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if you understand where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a peek at the key action encompassing Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (ADR) (NYSE:KOF).
Hedge fund activity in Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (ADR) (NYSE:KOF)
Heading into Q2, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 25% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, managed by Michael Larson, holds the largest position in Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (ADR) (NYSE:KOF). Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust has a $1.0178 billion position in the stock, comprising 5.6% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, which held a $111.2 million position; 0.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
As one would reasonably expect, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. D E Shaw, managed by D. E. Shaw, initiated the most outsized call position in Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (ADR) (NYSE:KOF). D E Shaw had 3.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also made a $1.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors.
What have insiders been doing with Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (ADR) (NYSE:KOF)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (ADR) (NYSE:KOF) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (ADR) (NYSE:KOF). These stocks are Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ:MNST), PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP), Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (NYSE:DPS), Coca-Cola HBC S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:CCH), and Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc (NYSE:CCE). This group of stocks are the members of the beverages – soft drinks industry and their market caps resemble KOF’s market cap.