Should AT&T Inc. (T) Investors Follow This Can’t-Miss Indicator?

Is AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) an exceptional investment now? Money managers are becoming less confident. The number of bullish hedge fund bets stayed the same which is a slightly negative development in our experience

In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of metrics investors can use to watch publicly traded companies. A couple of the most under-the-radar 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 best money managers can outclass the broader indices by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Just as important, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the world of equities. Obviously, there are a variety of stimuli for a bullish insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, let’s take a gander at the recent action surrounding AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T).

How are hedge funds trading AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 35 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 0% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably.

According to our comprehensive database, Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management had the most valuable position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), worth close to $258.1 million, comprising 0.7% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Adage Capital Management, managed by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, which held a $250.9 million position; the fund has 0.8% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers that are bullish include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management.

Due to the fact that AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the smart money, logic holds that there is a sect of money managers that slashed their entire stakes last quarter. Interestingly, Clifford G. Fox’s Columbus Circle Investors dropped the largest position of all the hedgies we monitor, comprising close to $139 million in stock., and Eric Mindich of Eton Park Capital was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $14.7 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

What do corporate executives and insiders think about AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)?

Bullish insider trading is best served when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) has experienced 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the returns shown by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, retail investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is no exception.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds