Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love Tech Data Corp (TECD)?: Peerless Systems Corp. (PRLS), SED International Holdings, Inc. (SED)

Tech Data Corp (NASDAQ:TECD) was in 11 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. TECD investors should be aware of a decrease in hedge fund interest recently. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with TECD holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

Tech Data Corp (NASDAQ:TECD)In the eyes of most stock holders, hedge funds are assumed to be unimportant, outdated investment vehicles of yesteryear. While there are more than 8000 funds in operation today, we at Insider Monkey hone in on the elite of this group, about 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group oversees the majority of all hedge funds’ total capital, and by paying attention to their top picks, we have revealed a few investment strategies that have historically outpaced the S&P 500 index. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 25 percentage points in 6.5 month (check out a sample of our picks).

Equally as important, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of stimuli for an executive to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if you know where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, it’s important to take a peek at the key action encompassing Tech Data Corp (NASDAQ:TECD).

Hedge fund activity in Tech Data Corp (NASDAQ:TECD)

In preparation for this year, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -27% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.

Of the funds we track, Fisher Asset Management, managed by Ken Fisher, holds the most valuable position in Tech Data Corp (NASDAQ:TECD). Fisher Asset Management has a $54 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Firefly Value Partners, managed by Ryan Heslop and Ariel Warszawski, which held a $46 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedge funds that are bullish include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Because Tech Data Corp (NASDAQ:TECD) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there exists a select few hedge funds that elected to cut their positions entirely at the end of the year. It’s worth mentioning that Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management dropped the biggest position of the 450+ funds we watch, totaling close to $4 million in stock., and Tom Facciola of Tigershark Partners was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $2 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 4 funds at the end of the year.

Insider trading activity in Tech Data Corp (NASDAQ:TECD)

Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest 180-day time period, Tech Data Corp (NASDAQ:TECD) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Tech Data Corp (NASDAQ:TECD). These stocks are Peerless Systems Corp. (NASDAQ:PRLS), SED International Holdings, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:SED), Wayside Technology Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSTG), Navarre Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVR), and Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE:IM). This group of stocks are the members of the computers wholesale industry and their market caps are similar to TECD’s market cap.

Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
Peerless Systems Corp. (NASDAQ:PRLS) 1 0 0
SED International Holdings, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:SED) 1 2 3
Wayside Technology Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSTG) 1 1 1
Navarre Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVR) 1 1 0
Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE:IM) 17 0 9

With the returns shown by our tactics, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Tech Data Corp (NASDAQ:TECD) is no exception.

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