In the financial world, there are many metrics market participants can use to track stocks. Two of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outperform the market by a superb margin (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Just as you’d expect, there are a variety of incentives for a corporate insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if “monkeys” know where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a look at the latest action regarding The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL).
How are hedge funds trading The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 17 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -11% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Iridian Asset Management, managed by David Cohen and Harold Levy, holds the most valuable position in The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL). Iridian Asset Management has a $222 million position in the stock, comprising 3.7% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Doug Silverman of Senator Investment Group, with a $115 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other peers that hold long positions include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
Judging by the fact that The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL) has experienced falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there were a few funds who sold off their positions entirely last quarter. Intriguingly, Michael Karsch’s Karsch Capital Management dropped the biggest investment of all the hedgies we watch, totaling an estimated $49 million in stock.. SAC Subsidiary’s fund, Sigma Capital Management, also dropped its stock, about $10 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds last quarter.
Insider trading activity in The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL)
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time period, The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL) has experienced 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the results demonstrated by our studies, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL) is no exception.
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