Harman International Industries Inc./DE/ (NYSE:HAR) was in 22 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. HAR investors should be aware of an increase in enthusiasm from smart money of late. There were 20 hedge funds in our database with HAR holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
Equally as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of reasons for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Many academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).
Now, let’s take a look at the key action surrounding Harman International Industries Inc./DE/ (NYSE:HAR).
How have hedgies been trading Harman International Industries Inc./DE/ (NYSE:HAR)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 22 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 10% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.
Of the funds we track, Adage Capital Management, managed by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, holds the biggest position in Harman International Industries Inc./DE/ (NYSE:HAR). Adage Capital Management has a $57.6 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Martin Whitman of Third Avenue Management, with a $46.6 million position; the fund has 0.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers with similar optimism include Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Daniel Bubis’s Tetrem Capital Management.
As industrywide interest jumped, some big names have been driving this bullishness. Polar Capital, managed by Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley, established the most valuable position in Harman International Industries Inc./DE/ (NYSE:HAR). Polar Capital had 7.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Catapult Capital Management also initiated a $2.6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Andy Redleaf’s Whitebox Advisors, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and SAC Subsidiary’s Sigma Capital Management.
How have insiders been trading Harman International Industries Inc./DE/ (NYSE:HAR)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time period, Harman International Industries Inc./DE/ (NYSE:HAR) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Harman International Industries Inc./DE/ (NYSE:HAR). These stocks are Universal Electronics Inc (NASDAQ:UEIC), Fabrinet (NYSE:FN), Panasonic Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:PC), Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE), and Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB). This group of stocks are the members of the electronic equipment industry and their market caps are similar to HAR’s market cap.
