To the average investor, there are tons of metrics investors can use to watch publicly traded companies. Some 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 best picks of the elite money managers can outclass the market by a significant margin (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the world of equities. Obviously, there are lots of stimuli for a bullish insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, let’s take a gander at the key action encompassing The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG).
How have hedgies been trading The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 58 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably.
According to our comprehensive database, Berkshire Hathaway, managed by Warren Buffett, holds the most valuable position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG). Berkshire Hathaway has a $4.0682 billion position in the stock, comprising 4.8% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Pershing Square, managed by Bill Ackman, which held a $2.1536 billion position; 21.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Donald Yacktman’s Yacktman Asset Management, Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management and Brett Barakett’s Tremblant Capital.
Due to the fact that The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s safe to say that there was a specific group of hedge funds who sold off their entire stakes in Q1. It’s worth mentioning that Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies said goodbye to the largest investment of all the hedgies we monitor, worth about $108.5 million in stock.. Anand Parekh’s fund, Alyeska Investment Group, also dumped its stock, about $10.9 million worth. These moves are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
Insider trading activity in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest 180-day time frame, The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG). These stocks are Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR), Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE:AVP), Estee Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE:EL), Kimberly Clark Corp (NYSE:KMB), and Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL). All of these stocks are in the personal products industry and their market caps are closest to PG’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) | 21 | 0 | 7 |
| Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE:AVP) | 25 | 1 | 1 |
| Estee Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE:EL) | 30 | 0 | 12 |
| Kimberly Clark Corp (NYSE:KMB) | 20 | 0 | 8 |
| Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) | 29 | 0 | 24 |
With the returns demonstrated by our studies, retail investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) applies perfectly to this mantra.
