Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC): Insiders Are Buying, Should You?

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC) investors should pay attention to a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately.

To the average investor, there are a multitude of metrics shareholders can use to analyze publicly traded companies. Two of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top fund managers can outpace their index-focused peers by a significant amount (see just how much).

Just as key, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the marketplace. There are lots of stimuli for a bullish insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if investors understand what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, let’s take a glance at the key action encompassing Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC).

How have hedgies been trading Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC)?

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -21% from the third quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.

Of the funds we track, Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, holds the biggest position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC). Citadel Investment Group has a $50 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. On Citadel Investment Group’s heels is Sigma Capital Management, managed by SAC Subsidiary, which held a $47 million position; the fund has 2.5% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers that hold long positions include Jeffrey Tannenbaum’s Fir Tree, Richard Blum’s Blum Capital Partners and Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors.

Due to the fact that Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC) has experienced falling interest from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there were a few money managers who were dropping their positions entirely in Q4. It’s worth mentioning that D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw dumped the biggest stake of all the hedgies we monitor, valued at close to $12 million in stock.. Jay Petschek and Steven Major’s fund, Corsair Capital Management, also sold off its stock, about $5 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 4 funds in Q4.

Insider trading activity in Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC)

Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time period, Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC). These stocks are Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR), Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN), Ameristar Casinos, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASCA), Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc (NYSE:PNK), and Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD). This group of stocks belong to the resorts & casinos industry and their market caps match VAC’s market cap.

With the returns exhibited by our research, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC) applies perfectly to this mantra.

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