The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR) was in 23 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. TKR investors should pay attention to an increase in enthusiasm from smart money of late. There were 19 hedge funds in our database with TKR positions at the end of the previous quarter.
In the financial world, there are a multitude of methods shareholders can use to watch Mr. Market. A couple of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite investment managers can outpace the broader indices by a very impressive amount (see just how much).
Just as integral, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the financial markets. Obviously, there are a number of incentives for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if “monkeys” understand where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a glance at the key action regarding The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR).
What have hedge funds been doing with The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 23 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 21% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Ralph V. Whitworth’s Relational Investors had the biggest position in The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR), worth close to $263 million, accounting for 5% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management, with a $46 million position; the fund has 0.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that hold long positions include Thomas E. Claugus’s GMT Capital, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors and Tom Sandell’s Sandell Asset Management.
As aggregate interest increased, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Relational Investors, managed by Ralph V. Whitworth, initiated the most valuable position in The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR). Relational Investors had 263 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Tom Sandell’s Sandell Asset Management also initiated a $17 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new TKR positions are Alexander Mitchell’s Scopus Asset Management, Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management, and Ryan Schaper’s Point Lobos Capital.
How have insiders been trading The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest 180-day time frame, The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns shown by our research, everyday investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
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