In today’s marketplace, there are many methods shareholders can use to track stocks. Two of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top hedge fund managers can outpace the broader indices by a very impressive amount (see just how much).
Just as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are plenty of stimuli for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a look at the recent action encompassing Manning and Napier Inc (NYSE:MN).
How are hedge funds trading Manning and Napier Inc (NYSE:MN)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 5 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -29% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.
According to our comprehensive database, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the biggest position in Manning and Napier Inc (NYSE:MN), worth close to $13.2 million, accounting for less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Israel Englander of Millennium Management, with a $0.5 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that are bullish include Douglas W. Case’s Advanced Investment Partners, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
Due to the fact that Manning and Napier Inc (NYSE:MN) has faced falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there was a specific group of hedgies who sold off their positions entirely in Q4. It’s worth mentioning that Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management dumped the largest stake of the 450+ funds we track, worth about $0.9 million in stock.. Neil Chriss’s fund, Hutchin Hill Capital, also cut its stock, about $0.7 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds in Q4.
How have insiders been trading Manning and Napier Inc (NYSE:MN)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, Manning and Napier Inc (NYSE:MN) has experienced 1 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 Manning and Napier Inc (NYSE:MN). These stocks are Resource America Inc (NASDAQ:REXI), Diamond Hill Investment Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DHIL), Calamos Asset Management, Inc (NASDAQ:CLMS), Solar Senior Capital Ltd (NASDAQ:SUNS), and FBR & Co (NASDAQ:FBRC). This group of stocks are in the asset management industry and their market caps are similar to MN’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Resource America Inc (NASDAQ:REXI) | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Diamond Hill Investment Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DHIL) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Calamos Asset Management, Inc (NASDAQ:CLMS) | 9 | 5 | 1 |
| Solar Senior Capital Ltd (NASDAQ:SUNS) | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| FBR & Co (NASDAQ:FBRC) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
With the results demonstrated by our strategies, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Manning and Napier Inc (NYSE:MN) is an important part of this process.
