Rockwell Collins, Inc. (COL): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

Is Rockwell Collins, Inc. (NYSE:COL) worth your attention right now? The best stock pickers are getting more optimistic. The number of long hedge fund bets inched up by 2 in recent months.

In the financial world, there are dozens of indicators market participants can use to watch publicly traded companies. A duo of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best money managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a significant margin (see just how much).

Just as key, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the world of equities. Obviously, there are a number of stimuli for a corporate insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a look at the key action surrounding Rockwell Collins, Inc. (NYSE:COL).

How have hedgies been trading Rockwell Collins, Inc. (NYSE:COL)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 19 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 12% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably.

Of the funds we track, ValueAct Capital, managed by Jeffrey Ubben, holds the biggest position in Rockwell Collins, Inc. (NYSE:COL). ValueAct Capital has a $705.6 million position in the stock, comprising 8% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Adage Capital Management, managed by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, which held a $136.8 million position; 0.5% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedgies with similar optimism include Thomas Steyer’s Farallon Capital, John Burbank’s Passport Capital and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, some big names have jumped into Rockwell Collins, Inc. (NYSE:COL) headfirst. Winton Capital Management, managed by David Harding, created the most valuable position in Rockwell Collins, Inc. (NYSE:COL). Winton Capital Management had 4.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Catapult Capital Management also made a $2.5 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new COL investors: Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates, Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser’s Magnetar Capital, and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

Insider trading activity in Rockwell Collins, Inc. (NYSE:COL)

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Rockwell Collins, Inc. (NYSE:COL) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 12 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 Rockwell Collins, Inc. (NYSE:COL). These stocks are Triumph Group Inc (NYSE:TGI), B/E Aerospace Inc (NASDAQ:BEAV), Embraer SA (ADR) (NYSE:ERJ), L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LLL), and TransDigm Group Incorporated (NYSE:TDG). This group of stocks are in the aerospace/defense products & services industry and their market caps match COL’s market cap.