The Madison Square Garden Co (NASDAQ:MSG) investors should be aware of a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately.
In today’s marketplace, there are plenty of indicators investors can use to track publicly traded companies. Some of the best are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top money managers can beat the market by a solid margin (see just how much).
Just as key, positive insider trading activity is another way to break down the marketplace. Obviously, there are many incentives for a bullish insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if investors understand where to look (learn more here).
Now, let’s take a gander at the latest action regarding The Madison Square Garden Co (NASDAQ:MSG).
Hedge fund activity in The Madison Square Garden Co (NASDAQ:MSG)
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 19 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -5% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Christian Leone’s Luxor Capital Group had the biggest position in The Madison Square Garden Co (NASDAQ:MSG), worth close to $267 million, accounting for 9.3% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Southeastern Asset Management, managed by Mason Hawkins, which held a $193 million position; the fund has 0.8% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish include Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors, John W. Rogers’s Ariel Investments and Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue Management.
Judging by the fact that The Madison Square Garden Co (NASDAQ:MSG) has faced bearish sentiment from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there is a sect of hedgies who sold off their positions entirely last quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Steven Richman’s East Side Capital (RR Partners) said goodbye to the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we track, totaling an estimated $24 million in stock.. Israel Englander’s fund, Millennium Management, also cut its stock, about $5 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds last quarter.
Insider trading activity in The Madison Square Garden Co (NASDAQ:MSG)
Insider buying is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time frame, The Madison Square Garden Co (NASDAQ:MSG) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns shown by Insider Monkey’s studies, everyday investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and The Madison Square Garden Co (NASDAQ:MSG) is no exception.
Click here to learn more about Insider Monkey’s Hedge Fund Newsletter
Insider Monkey’s small-cap strategy returned 29.2% between September 2012 and February 2013 versus 8.7% for the S&P 500 index. Try it now by clicking the link above.
