RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) was in 14 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. RPM investors should be aware of a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months. There were 14 hedge funds in our database with RPM holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
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With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a look at the key action surrounding RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM).
What have hedge funds been doing with RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from the third quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.
According to our comprehensive database, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the largest position in RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM). Renaissance Technologies has a $21 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. On Renaissance Technologies’s heels is Steven Cohen of SAC Capital Advisors, with a $15 million position; 0% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Because RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) has faced falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there was a specific group of fund managers who were dropping their entire stakes at the end of the year. Interestingly, Ken Grossman and Glen Schneider’s SG Capital Management sold off the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, comprising about $7 million in stock., and Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $1 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
How have insiders been trading RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM)?
Bullish insider trading is most useful when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time frame, RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 4 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 RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM). These stocks are Methanex Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:MEOH), NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU), Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ROC), Cytec Industries Inc (NYSE:CYT), and The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL). This group of stocks belong to the specialty chemicals industry and their market caps are closest to RPM’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Methanex Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:MEOH) | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU) | 13 | 2 | 1 |
| Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ROC) | 31 | 0 | 4 |
| Cytec Industries Inc (NYSE:CYT) | 18 | 0 | 14 |
| The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL) | 17 | 1 | 3 |
With the returns demonstrated by our time-tested strategies, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
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