Is Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) a marvelous investment today? Money managers are reducing their bets on the stock. The number of bullish hedge fund bets decreased by 13 in recent months.
In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of gauges market participants can use to monitor their holdings. A pair of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best money managers can trounce the market by a significant amount (see just how much).
Just as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the financial markets. Obviously, there are plenty of incentives for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a look at the latest action surrounding Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS).
What have hedge funds been doing with Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)?
At year’s end, a total of 46 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -22% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully.
Of the funds we track, Eagle Capital Management, managed by Boykin Curry, holds the most valuable position in Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS). Eagle Capital Management has a $327 million position in the stock, comprising 2.3% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Pzena Investment Management, managed by Richard S. Pzena, which held a $214 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish include William B. Gray’s Orbis Investment Management, and Brian Taylor’s Pine River Capital Management.
Due to the fact that Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) has faced a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there is a sect of fund managers that decided to sell off their entire stakes in Q4. Intriguingly, Robert Pohly’s Samlyn Capital said goodbye to the biggest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, totaling about $77 million in stock.. Jorge Paulo Lemann’s fund, 3G Capital, also sold off its call options., about $68 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 13 funds in Q4.
How are insiders trading Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)?
Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 10 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns shown by the aforementioned research, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) is no exception.
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