Hedge Funds Aren’t Crazy About Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (DB) Anymore

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Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB) was in 11 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. DB has seen a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with DB positions at the end of the previous quarter.

Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB)

In the eyes of most stock holders, hedge funds are viewed as underperforming, old investment vehicles of years past. While there are over 8000 funds with their doors open at present, we choose to focus on the aristocrats of this club, close to 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group controls the lion’s share of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by paying attention to their best stock picks, we have formulated a number of investment strategies that have historically beaten the S&P 500 index. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (check out a sample of our picks).

Just as integral, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to break down the stock market universe. There are a variety of motivations for an insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Various academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if you know what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, it’s important to take a glance at the key action regarding Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB).

What does the smart money think about Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -15% 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 upping their stakes significantly.

Of the funds we track, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the most valuable position in Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB). Renaissance Technologies has a $26.8 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. On Renaissance Technologies’s heels is Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, with a $9.7 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedgies that hold long positions include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management.

Because Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB) has experienced a declination in interest from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there exists a select few fund managers that elected to cut their entire stakes in Q1. At the top of the heap, Crispin Odey’s Odey Asset Management Group dumped the biggest position of the 450+ funds we monitor, comprising close to $18.4 million in stock.. Joe DiMenna’s fund, ZWEIG DIMENNA PARTNERS, also dumped its stock, about $14.2 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds in Q1.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB). These stocks are Banco Bradesco SA (ADR) (NYSE:BBD), Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Grp, Inc. (ADR) (NYSE:SMFG), ICICI Bank Limited (ADR) (NYSE:IBN), Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (ADR) (NYSE:MFG), and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (ADR) (NYSE:BBVA). This group of stocks are the members of the foreign regional banks industry and their market caps match DB’s market cap.

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