In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of methods investors can use to analyze publicly traded companies. Two of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite fund managers can outclass the market by a solid amount (see just how much).
Just as important, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are lots of incentives for a bullish insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if you know where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, let’s take a look at the latest action encompassing TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST).
What have hedge funds been doing with TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 20% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially.
Of the funds we track, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the biggest position in TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST), worth close to $25.5 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. On Royce & Associates’s heels is Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, with a $0.7 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds that are bullish include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors and Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp.
As aggregate interest increased, key money managers have jumped into TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST) headfirst. Tudor Investment Corp, managed by Paul Tudor Jones, assembled the largest position in TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST). Tudor Investment Corp had 0.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter.
Insider trading activity in TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST)
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time frame, TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST) has seen 2 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 TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST). These stocks are Oritani Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:ORIT), Northfield Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:NFBK), Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH), Tompkins Financial Corporation (NYSEAMEX:TMP), and S & T Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:STBA). This group of stocks belong to the regional – northeast banks industry and their market caps match TRST’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Oritani Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:ORIT) | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Northfield Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:NFBK) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Tompkins Financial Corporation (NYSEAMEX:TMP) | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| S & T Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:STBA) | 5 | 1 | 6 |
With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s tactics, retail investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST) is an important part of this process.
