Siemens AG (ADR) (NYSE:SI) was in 12 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. SI shareholders have witnessed an increase in enthusiasm from smart money lately. There were 9 hedge funds in our database with SI holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
To most market participants, hedge funds are assumed to be slow, old investment vehicles of the past. While there are over 8000 funds trading at the moment, we choose to focus on the bigwigs of this group, about 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group oversees the lion’s share of the smart money’s total asset base, and by monitoring their highest performing picks, we have figured out a few investment strategies that have historically outstripped the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outperformed the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per year 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 outperformed the S&P 500 index by 24 percentage points in 7 months (explore the details and some picks here).
Equally as integral, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the stock market universe. Obviously, there are many reasons for an executive to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the key action regarding Siemens AG (ADR) (NYSE:SI).
What have hedge funds been doing with Siemens AG (ADR) (NYSE:SI)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 33% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the largest position in Siemens AG (ADR) (NYSE:SI). Renaissance Technologies has a $18.7 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Ken Fisher of Fisher Asset Management, with a $8.3 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management and Andrew R. Midler’s Savitr Capital.
As one would reasonably expect, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, created the most outsized position in Siemens AG (ADR) (NYSE:SI). Renaissance Technologies had 18.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group also initiated a $6.1 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new SI positions are Andrew R. Midler’s Savitr Capital, Mike Vranos’s Ellington, and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital.
How have insiders been trading Siemens AG (ADR) (NYSE:SI)?
Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time period, Siemens AG (ADR) (NYSE:SI) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Siemens AG (ADR) (NYSE:SI). These stocks are Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW), Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (ADR) (NYSE:PHG), General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR), and Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON). This group of stocks are in the diversified machinery industry and their market caps match SI’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) | 24 | 0 | 10 |
| Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (ADR) (NYSE:PHG) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) | 60 | 2 | 1 |
| Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) | 33 | 0 | 12 |
| Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON) | 31 | 0 | 10 |
With the returns demonstrated by our strategies, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Siemens AG (ADR) (NYSE:SI) is an important part of this process.
