WPP PLC (ADR) (WPPGY): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

At the moment, there are plenty of gauges investors can use to watch stocks. Two of the best 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 investment managers can outperform the S&P 500 by a superb margin (see just how much).

Just as necessary, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to look at the financial markets. Obviously, there are a variety of stimuli for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

Furthermore, let’s analyze the latest info surrounding WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY).

Hedge fund activity in WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY)

In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 14% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially.

According to our 13F database, Peter Rathjens Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital had the largest position in WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY), worth close to $8.4 million, accounting for 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is J. Alan Reid Jr. of Forward Management, with a $7.3 million position; the fund has 0.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies with similar optimism include Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management, and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management.

Consequently, certain money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Arrowstreet Capital, managed by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, initiated the most valuable position in WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY). Arrowstreet Capital had 8.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. J. Alan Reid, Jr.’s Forward Management also made a $7.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new WPPGY positions are Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management, Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management, and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management.

Insider trading activity in WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY)

Insider buying made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time frame, WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY). These stocks are Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:MWW), Focus Media Holding Limited (ADR) (NASDAQ:FMCN), Lamar Advertising Co (NASDAQ:LAMR), Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG), and Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC). This group of stocks belong to the advertising agencies industry and their market caps resemble WPPGY’s market cap.