What Hedge Funds Think About JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) was in 94 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. JPM investors should be aware of a decrease in hedge fund interest of late. There were 97 hedge funds in our database with JPM positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are dozens of metrics investors can use to monitor stocks. A couple of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best investment managers can outclass the market by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are a variety of reasons for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a gander at the key action surrounding JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM).

Hedge fund activity in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 94 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -3% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.

According to our comprehensive database, Lansdowne Partners, managed by Paul Ruddock and Steve Heinz, holds the largest position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM). Lansdowne Partners has a $854.1 million position in the stock, comprising 11.7% of its 13F portfolio. On Lansdowne Partners’s heels is Fisher Asset Management, managed by Ken Fisher, which held a $616.7 million position; 1.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedgies that hold long positions include Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management and Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital.

Seeing as JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) has experienced bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there were a few fund managers who sold off their positions entirely in Q1. Intriguingly, Rob Citrone’s Discovery Capital Management dumped the biggest position of all the hedgies we monitor, valued at an estimated $177 million in stock.. George Soros’s fund, Soros Fund Management, also dropped its stock, about $113 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds in Q1.

Insider trading activity in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time period, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) has experienced 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 10 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned studies, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is no exception.

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