Manpowergroup Inc (NYSE:MAN) was in 15 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. MAN has experienced a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money lately. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with MAN holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
According to most market participants, hedge funds are viewed as slow, old investment tools of years past. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open at present, we look at the upper echelon of this group, close to 450 funds. It is estimated that this group has its hands on the lion’s share of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by keeping an eye on their highest performing picks, we have uncovered a few investment strategies that have historically beaten Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outperformed the S&P 500 index by 25 percentage points in 6.5 month (see all of our picks from August).
Just as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the marketplace. Obviously, there are lots of stimuli for a bullish insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a look at the recent action surrounding Manpowergroup Inc (NYSE:MAN).
How have hedgies been trading Manpowergroup Inc (NYSE:MAN)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.
Of the funds we track, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the most valuable position in Manpowergroup Inc (NYSE:MAN), worth close to $52 million, accounting for 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management, with a $26 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies that are bullish include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital and Matthew Lindenbaum’s Basswood Capital.
Since Manpowergroup Inc (NYSE:MAN) has faced falling interest from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there exists a select few fund managers that decided to sell off their full holdings last quarter. Interestingly, Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick’s First Pacific Advisors LLC dropped the largest investment of the 450+ funds we monitor, comprising about $17 million in stock.. Clint Carlson’s fund, Carlson Capital, also cut its stock, about $12 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Manpowergroup Inc (NYSE:MAN)?
Bullish insider trading is best served when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time period, Manpowergroup Inc (NYSE:MAN) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Manpowergroup Inc (NYSE:MAN). These stocks are Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE:RHI), Team Health Holdings LLC (NYSE:TMH), 51job, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:JOBS), Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX), and On Assignment, Inc. (NYSE:ASGN). This group of stocks are the members of the staffing & outsourcing services industry and their market caps are similar to MAN’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE:RHI) | 22 | 0 | 1 |
| Team Health Holdings LLC (NYSE:TMH) | 22 | 0 | 2 |
| 51job, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:JOBS) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) | 12 | 0 | 4 |
| On Assignment, Inc. (NYSE:ASGN) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned strategies, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Manpowergroup Inc (NYSE:MAN) is no exception.
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