Martin Whitman is the founder, Co-Chief Investment Officer, and Portfolio Manager of the Third Avenue Management, which has nearly $5 billion assets under management. Asset Management firms devote significant resources to researching stocks. They sometimes even cross the line to try to obtain material non-public information before investing. Additionally, corporate insiders have material non-public information and they sometimes trade based on such information. Other times they have an edge because they know their companies and industries better than almost all other investors. We believe that by imitating the stock picks of these smartest investors in the world, investors are more likely to beat the market in the long term.
Below we compiled a list of stocks both Marty Whitman and insiders are bullish about. All stocks are in Whitman’s portfolio and were purchased by at least one insider during the past three months.
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BK): BNY Mellon is a global financial services company. Whitman had $251 million invested in the stock and it was purchased by two insiders over the past three months. It has a market cap of $23.3B, a P/E ratio of 8.75, and lost 36.64% since the beginning of this year. Jean-Marie Eveillard also had over $400 million invested in BK.
KeyCorp (KEY): KeyCorp is the parent holding company for KeyBank National Association, through which its banking services are provided. Whitman had $115 million invested in the stock and it was purchased by one insider over the past three months. It has a market cap of $6.3B, a P/E ratio of 6.8, and lost 24.74% since the beginning of this year. Ken Griffin had $174 million invested in KEY shares.
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT): Applied provides manufacturing equipment, services and software to the global semiconductor, flat panel display, solar photovoltaic and related industries. Whitman had $48.3 million invested in the stock and it was purchased by one insider over the past three months. It has a market cap of $14.5B, a P/E ratio of 7.57, and lost 20.49% since the beginning of this year. Ken Fisher had $525 million invested in AMAT shares.
Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. (BR): Broadridge is a global provider of technology solutions to the financial services industry. Whitman had $39.7 million invested in the stock and it was purchased by one insider over the past three months. It has a market cap of $2.6B, a P/E ratio of 15.64, and lost 1.58% since the beginning of this year. Leon Cooperman invested nearly $100 million in BR stocks.
Lexmark International Inc. (LXK): Lexmark is engaged in developing, manufacturing and supplying printing and, imaging, document workflow, and content management solutions for the office. Whitman had $38.2 million invested in the stock and it was purchased by one insider over the past three months. It has a market cap of $2.4B, a P/E ratio of 7.02, and lost 13.07% since the beginning of this year. David Dreman, Cliff Asness, and Ray Dalio all invested more than $20 million in LXK.
Seacor Holdings Inc. (CKH): Seacor owns, operates, invests in and marketing equipment, in the offshore oil and gas, industrial aviation and marine transportation industries. Whitman had $36.4 million invested in the stock and it was purchased by two insiders over the past three months. It has a market cap of $1.9B, a P/E ratio of 9.31, and lost 13.87% since the beginning of this year. Cliff Asness, Michael Lowenstein, and Chuck Royce all had over $40 million invested in CKH.
Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd. (MRH): Montpelier provides insurance and reinsurance solutions to the global market. Whitman had $35.1 million invested in the stock and it was purchased by one insider over the past three months. It has a market cap of $1.1B, a P/E ratio of 31.33, and lost 8.88% since the beginning of this year. Chuck Royce had $50 million invested in MRH.
Westlake Chemical Corp. (WLK): Westlake Chemical Corporation is a vertically integrated manufacturer and marketer of basic chemicals, vinyls, polymers and fabricated polyvinyl chloride building products. Whitman had $28.9 million invested in the stock and it was purchased by one insider over the past three months. It has a market cap of $2.5B, a P/E ratio of 8.19, and lost 11.69% since the beginning of this year. Chuck Royce had $279 million invested in WLK.
HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. (HCC): HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. is a specialty insurer with offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain and Ireland. Whitman had $28.8 million invested in the stock and it was purchased by three insiders over the past three months. It has a market cap of $3.0B, a P/E ratio of 10.26, and lost 3.89% since the beginning of this year. John W. Rogers invested over $70 million in HCC shares.
MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (WFR): MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. is engaged in the development, manufacture, and sale of silicon wafers. Whitman had $26.6 million invested in the stock and it was purchased by 11 insiders over the past three months. It has a market cap of $1.3B, a P/E ratio of 17.56, and lost 50.09% since the beginning of this year. Chuck Royce also had $19 million of WFR stocks.
