Is Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) the right pick for your portfolio? The smart money is becoming less confident. The number of long hedge fund bets were trimmed by 1 lately.
Just as integral, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to break down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of incentives for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if “monkeys” understand where to look (learn more here).
Now, we’re going to take a gander at the recent action surrounding Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC).
Hedge fund activity in Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC)
In preparation for this quarter, a total of 16 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -6% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.
Of the funds we track, Generation Investment Management, managed by David Blood and Al Gore, holds the most valuable position in Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC). Generation Investment Management has a $391.8 million position in the stock, comprising 8% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Ken Fisher of Fisher Asset Management, with a $54.6 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedgies with similar optimism include Robert Joseph Caruso’s Select Equity Group, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.
Since Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) has faced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there were a few funds that decided to sell off their full holdings in Q1. At the top of the heap, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors dumped the biggest stake of the 450+ funds we track, comprising close to $5.3 million in stock., and Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $3.4 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds in Q1.
What have insiders been doing with Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the latest 180-day time period, Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 15 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC). These stocks are Chindex International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHDX), MWI Veterinary Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:MWIV), Owens & Minor, Inc. (NYSE:OMI), and Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO). This group of stocks belong to the medical equipment wholesale industry and their market caps match HSIC’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Chindex International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHDX) | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| MWI Veterinary Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:MWIV) | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| Owens & Minor, Inc. (NYSE:OMI) | 9 | 0 | 10 |
| Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) | 22 | 0 | 3 |
With the returns exhibited by our tactics, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
