Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ) investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund interest recently.
At the moment, there are many methods shareholders can use to watch stocks. A couple of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best investment managers can trounce the market by a solid margin (see just how much).
Just as integral, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are many reasons for an executive to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if you understand where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, we’re going to take a gander at the latest action surrounding Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ).
What does the smart money think about Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ)?
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 28 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 12% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group had the largest position in Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ), worth close to $415.7 million, comprising 0.6% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Pzena Investment Management, managed by Richard S. Pzena, which held a $265.1 million position; the fund has 1.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management, Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital and Jonathon Jacobson’s Highfields Capital Management.
As one would reasonably expect, key hedge funds were leading the bulls’ herd. AQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, initiated the most outsized position in Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ). AQR Capital Management had 28.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Greg Poole’s Echo Street Capital Management also initiated a $6.6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new IVZ positions are Malcolm Fairbairn’s Ascend Capital, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, and Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments.
Insider trading activity in Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ)
Insider buying is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ). These stocks are Carlyle Group LP (NASDAQ:CG), Oaktree Capital Group LLC (NYSE:OAK), Principal Financial Group Inc (NYSE:PFG), Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP), and Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS). This group of stocks are in the asset management industry and their market caps match IVZ’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Carlyle Group LP (NASDAQ:CG) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Oaktree Capital Group LLC (NYSE:OAK) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Principal Financial Group Inc (NYSE:PFG) | 7 | 1 | 14 |
| Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) | 25 | 0 | 12 |
| Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) | 23 | 0 | 10 |
With the returns demonstrated by our strategies, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ) is no exception.
