At Insider Monkey, we pore over the filings of more than 700 top investment firms every quarter, a process we have now completed for the latest reporting period. The data we’ve gathered as a result gives us access to a wealth of collective knowledge based on these firms’ portfolio holdings as of September 30. In this article, we will use that wealth of knowledge to determine whether or not WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY) makes for a good investment right now.
WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY) was in 9 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY) shareholders have witnessed an increase in hedge fund interest of late. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY) holdings at the end of the previous quarter. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD), State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT), and Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) to gather more data points.
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At the moment there are a lot of tools shareholders use to analyze stocks. Some of the most useful tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can outperform the S&P 500 by a very impressive margin (see the details here).
Now, we’re going to take a glance at the key action regarding WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY).
How are hedge funds trading WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY)?
Heading into Q4, a total of 9 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish in this stock, an increase of 29% from the second quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
When looking at the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, Ken Fisher’s mutual fund Fisher Asset Management has the largest position in WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY), worth close to $53 million, corresponding to 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. On Fisher Asset Management’s heels is Arrowstreet Capital, led by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, holding a $7.4 million position; the fund has less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies with similar optimism consist of Renaissance Technologies, J. Alan Reid, Jr.’s Forward Management. and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Now, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Renaissance Technologies established the most valuable position in WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY), with $6.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Millennium Management also initiated a $1.9 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY) investors: Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments, and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management.
Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY) but similarly valued. These stocks are Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD), State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT), Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR), and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO). This group of stocks’ market values match WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY)’s market value.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| APD | 77 | 7809555 | 1 |
| STT | 24 | 748191 | -6 |
| EQR | 24 | 684438 | -4 |
| YHOO | 89 | 5470192 | -15 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 54 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $3.68 billion. That figure was $75 million in WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY)’s case. Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) is the least popular one with only 24 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY) is even less popular than State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT). Considering that hedge funds aren’t nearly as fond of this stock in relation to similarly valued companies, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and understand why the smart money isn’t behind this stock.
