People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT) was in 7 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. PBCT investors should be aware of a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds recently. There were 14 hedge funds in our database with PBCT positions at the end of the previous quarter.
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Keeping this in mind, it’s important to take a glance at the recent action regarding People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT).
Hedge fund activity in People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT)
Heading into Q2, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -50% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.
Of the funds we track, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management had the biggest position in People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT), worth close to $3.9 million, accounting for less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is John Zaro of Bourgeon Capital, with a $2.3 million position; 1.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Because People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT) has witnessed declining sentiment from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there exists a select few fund managers who were dropping their full holdings at the end of the first quarter. At the top of the heap, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital dumped the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, worth about $9.9 million in stock., and Michael Price of MFP Investors was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $3.7 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 7 funds at the end of the first quarter.
How are insiders trading People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 1 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 People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT). These stocks are Investors Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISBC), First Niagara Financial Group Inc. (NASDAQ:FNFG), New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:NYCB), Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE:OCN), and Hudson City Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCBK). All of these stocks are in the savings & loans industry and their market caps resemble PBCT’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Investors Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISBC) | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| First Niagara Financial Group Inc. (NASDAQ:FNFG) | 19 | 3 | 0 |
| New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:NYCB) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE:OCN) | 37 | 0 | 4 |
| Hudson City Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCBK) | 24 | 0 | 2 |
With the results shown by Insider Monkey’s research, retail investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT) is no exception.
