Macerich Co (MAC): Hedge Funds Are Bullish and Insiders Are Undecided, What Should You Do?

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Is Macerich Co (NYSE:MAC) a good investment?

In today’s marketplace, there are dozens of methods investors can use to watch their holdings. A duo of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite fund managers can outpace the broader indices by a significant amount (see just how much).

Just as crucial, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to analyze the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are many motivations for an upper level exec to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, we’re going to analyze the newest info surrounding Macerich Co (NYSE:MAC).

Macerich Co (NYSE:MAC)

What does the smart money think about Macerich Co (NYSE:MAC)?

At the end of the second quarter, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 30% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.

When using filings from the hedgies we track, Jeffrey Furber’s AEW Capital Management had the biggest position in Macerich Co (NYSE:MAC), worth close to $121 million, comprising 3.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Carlson Capital, managed by Clint Carlson, which held a $51.2 million position; 0.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other peers that are bullish include Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management.

Consequently, certain money managers have jumped into Macerich Co (NYSE:MAC) headfirst. AEW Capital Management, managed by Jeffrey Furber, initiated the most valuable position in Macerich Co (NYSE:MAC). AEW Capital Management had 121 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital also initiated a $51.2 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new MAC positions are Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, and Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management.

How have insiders been trading Macerich Co (NYSE:MAC)?

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

We’ll go over the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Macerich Co (NYSE:MAC). These stocks are DDR Corp (NYSE:DDR), Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT), SL Green Realty Corp (NYSE:SLG), Kimco Realty Corp (NYSE:KIM), and Realty Income Corp (NYSE:O). This group of stocks belong to the reit – retail industry and their market caps are similar to MAC’s market cap.

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