Should You Buy Dell Inc. (DELL)?

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) shareholders have witnessed an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late.

At the moment, there are tons of indicators market participants can use to monitor Mr. Market. Two of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite money managers can outclass the broader indices by a significant amount (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are many motivations for an upper level exec to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the latest action encompassing Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL).

How are hedge funds trading Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 61 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 20% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.

Of the funds we track, Mason Hawkins’s Southeastern Asset Management had the biggest position in Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), worth close to $1.7396 billion, accounting for 7.8% of its total 13F portfolio. On Southeastern Asset Management’s heels is Jonathon Jacobson of Highfields Capital Management, with a $327.7 million position; the fund has 3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include Frank Brosens’s Taconic Capital, Donald Yacktman’s Yacktman Asset Management and Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management.

As one would reasonably expect, some big names were breaking ground themselves. Highfields Capital Management, managed by Jonathon Jacobson, created the largest position in Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL). Highfields Capital Management had 327.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Frank Brosens’s Taconic Capital also initiated a $276.3 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Matthew Halbower’s Pentwater Capital Management, Kenneth Mario Garschina’s Mason Capital Management, and Carl Icahn’s Icahn Capital LP.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time frame, Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL). These stocks are Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ). This group of stocks are the members of the personal computers industry and their market caps are closest to DELL’s market cap.

With the returns demonstrated by the aforementioned tactics, retail investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds