Is UDR, Inc. (UDR) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds? – American Campus Communities, Inc. (ACC), Senior Housing Properties Trust (SNH)

UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR) was in 9 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. UDR shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with UDR holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In today’s marketplace, there are many indicators market participants can use to track stocks. A duo of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite money managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a healthy amount (see just how much).

Equally as important, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the marketplace. As the old adage goes: there are lots of incentives for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, let’s take a peek at the key action regarding UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR).

How have hedgies been trading UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR)?

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -10% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.

Of the funds we track, Pine River Capital Management, managed by Brian Taylor, holds the biggest position in UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR). Pine River Capital Management has a $21.9 million position in the stock, comprising 0.4% of its 13F portfolio. On Pine River Capital Management’s heels is Ken Gray and Steve Walsh of Bryn Mawr Capital, with a $21.7 million position; 1.9% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies that are bullish include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, J. Alan Reid, Jr.’s Forward Management and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

Since UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR) has faced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of hedge funds that elected to cut their entire stakes last quarter. At the top of the heap, Peter J. Eichler Jr.’s Aletheia Research and Management dumped the largest stake of the 450+ funds we monitor, totaling about $1.1 million in stock., and Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $1.1 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds last quarter.

How have insiders been trading UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR)?

Insider buying is most useful when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest 180-day time period, UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR). These stocks are Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE:TWO), American Campus Communities, Inc. (NYSE:ACC), Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE:SNH), Essex Property Trust Inc (NYSE:ESS), and Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT). This group of stocks are in the reit – residential industry and their market caps match UDR’s market cap.

With the results demonstrated by our studies, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR) applies perfectly to this mantra.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds