Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) investors should be aware of a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds recently.
In today’s marketplace, there are many indicators shareholders can use to monitor Mr. Market. A duo of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best investment managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a very impressive amount (see just how much).
Just as integral, positive insider trading activity is another way to parse down the financial markets. There are a variety of motivations for an insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a peek at the latest action encompassing Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG).
What does the smart money think about Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 126 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -12% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.
According to our comprehensive database, Lone Pine Capital, managed by Stephen Mandel, holds the biggest position in Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). Lone Pine Capital has a $1.0986 billion position in the stock, comprising 6.9% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Lansdowne Partners, managed by Paul Ruddockáand Steve Heinz, which held a $607.4 million position; the fund has 10.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include William B. Gray’s Orbis Investment Management, and Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management.
Seeing as Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has witnessed declining sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there is a sect of hedgies who sold off their full holdings heading into 2013. It’s worth mentioning that Chase Coleman and Feroz Dewan’s Tiger Global Management LLC said goodbye to the biggest position of the “upper crust” of funds we track, totaling about $526.6 million in stock., and Panayotis æTakisÆ Sparaggis of Alkeon Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $353.2 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 17 funds heading into 2013.
What have insiders been doing with Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 10 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). These stocks are Yandex NV (NASDAQ:YNDX), LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU), and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). All of these stocks are in the internet information providers industry and their market caps resemble GOOG’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Yandex NV (NASDAQ:YNDX) | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) | 35 | 0 | 13 |
| Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) | 60 | 0 | 2 |
| Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) | 67 | 0 | 9 |
With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s research, retail investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is no exception.
