Is Robbins & Myers, Inc. (NYSE:RBN) a buy here? Investors who are in the know are reducing their bets on the stock. The number of bullish hedge fund positions were trimmed by 2 recently.
In the financial world, there are many indicators market participants can use to watch Mr. Market. A pair of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite money managers can outclass the market by a healthy margin (see just how much).
Equally as important, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the marketplace. Just as you’d expect, there are lots of motivations for an upper level exec to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if investors understand where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, it’s important to take a gander at the latest action regarding Robbins & Myers, Inc. (NYSE:RBN).
What does the smart money think about Robbins & Myers, Inc. (NYSE:RBN)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 18 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -10% from the third quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Arrowgrass Capital Partners, managed by Nick Niell, holds the largest position in Robbins & Myers, Inc. (NYSE:RBN). Arrowgrass Capital Partners has a $132 million position in the stock, comprising 5.4% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Robert Emil Zoellner of Alpine Associates, with a $95 million position; the fund has 3.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds that hold long positions include Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.
Since Robbins & Myers, Inc. (NYSE:RBN) has faced a declination in interest from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of fund managers that decided to sell off their positions entirely heading into 2013. Interestingly, John Paulson’s Paulson & Co dumped the biggest position of the 450+ funds we track, totaling an estimated $60 million in stock., and Richard Schimel of Diamondback Capital was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $13 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds heading into 2013.
How have insiders been trading Robbins & Myers, Inc. (NYSE:RBN)?
Bullish insider trading is most useful when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time period, Robbins & Myers, Inc. (NYSE:RBN) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns shown by our tactics, everyday investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Robbins & Myers, Inc. (NYSE:RBN) is an important part of this process.
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