Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:FDP) was in 7 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. FDP shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late. There were 12 hedge funds in our database with FDP holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
According to most traders, hedge funds are perceived as slow, old investment vehicles of years past. While there are more than 8000 funds with their doors open at the moment, we choose to focus on the top tier of this group, around 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group controls most of the smart money’s total capital, and by watching their best stock picks, we have figured out a number of investment strategies that have historically outperformed the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 24 percentage points in 7 months (see the details here).
Equally as beneficial, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the financial markets. Obviously, there are plenty of incentives for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if you understand what to do (learn more here).
Now, let’s take a glance at the recent action surrounding Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:FDP).
How are hedge funds trading Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:FDP)?
At year’s end, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -42% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.
Of the funds we track, Farallon Capital, managed by Thomas Steyer, holds the biggest position in Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:FDP). Farallon Capital has a $10.6 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. On Farallon Capital’s heels is Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, which held a $1.4 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers that hold long positions include John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, Ken Gray and Steve Walsh’s Bryn Mawr Capital and Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp.
Judging by the fact that Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:FDP) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there exists a select few fund managers who sold off their entire stakes at the end of the year. Intriguingly, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management said goodbye to the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, totaling about $25 million in stock.. Israel Englander’s fund, Millennium Management, also dropped its stock, about $2.7 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 5 funds at the end of the year.
Insider trading activity in Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:FDP)
Insider buying is most useful when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:FDP) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 10 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:FDP). These stocks are Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (NYSE:CQB), Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW), Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A. (ADR) (NASDAQ:CRESY), Adecoagro SA (NYSE:AGRO), and The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE). This group of stocks are in the farm products industry and their market caps match FDP’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (NYSE:CQB) | 17 | 1 | 4 |
| Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A. (ADR) (NASDAQ:CRESY) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Adecoagro SA (NYSE:AGRO) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) | 7 | 0 | 5 |
With the returns shown by the aforementioned tactics, everyday investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:FDP) is an important part of this process.
