Biomed Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:BMR), Duke Realty Corp (NYSE:DRE): Hedge Funds Are Selling Prologis Inc (NYSE:PLD)

Prologis Inc (NYSE:PLD) was in 15 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. PLD investors should be aware of a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months. There were 17 hedge funds in our database with PLD holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In the financial world, there are many gauges investors can use to monitor their holdings. Some of the best are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best money managers can outclass the market by a healthy amount (see just how much).

Equally as important, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are lots of motivations for a bullish insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if investors know what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a look at the latest action surrounding Prologis Inc (NYSE:PLD).

What have hedge funds been doing with Prologis Inc (NYSE:PLD)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -12% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably.

When looking at the hedgies we track, AEW Capital Management, managed by Jeffrey Furber, holds the biggest position in Prologis Inc (NYSE:PLD). AEW Capital Management has a $188 million position in the stock, comprising 5% of its 13F portfolio. On AEW Capital Management’s heels is Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, which held a $97 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other peers with similar optimism include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

Due to the fact that Prologis Inc (NYSE:PLD) has faced falling interest from the smart money, logic holds that there was a specific group of money managers that elected to cut their entire stakes last quarter. At the top of the heap, Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick’s First Pacific Advisors LLC dumped the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, valued at about $3 million in stock., and Thomas Bailard of Bailard Inc was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $2 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds last quarter.

How are insiders trading Prologis Inc (NYSE:PLD)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, Prologis Inc (NYSE:PLD) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Prologis Inc (NYSE:PLD). These stocks are DCT Industrial Trust Inc. (NYSE:DCT), CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE), Biomed Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:BMR), Extra Space Storage, Inc. (NYSE:EXR), and Duke Realty Corp (NYSE:DRE). This group of stocks belong to the reit – industrial industry and their market caps match PLD’s market cap.

Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
DCT Industrial Trust Inc. (NYSE:DCT) 7 0 2
CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) 4 0 1
Biomed Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:BMR) 9 0 1
Extra Space Storage, Inc. (NYSE:EXR) 13 0 1
Duke Realty Corp (NYSE:DRE) 8 0 3

With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s tactics, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Prologis Inc (NYSE:PLD) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.