LIBERTY GLOBAL PLC (LBTYK): Is the Big Dip in Smart Money Ownership Justified?

In mid-February 2015, LIBERTY GLOBAL PLC (NASDAQ:LBTYK) and Vodafone Group Plc announced plans to merge their operating businesses in the Netherlands by forming a 50:50 joint venture. The freshly-announced joint venture combines Liberty’s Ziggo cable operations, which are scattered throughout the entire country, and Vodafone’s mobile operations. The new venture will continue to operate under the Vodafone and Ziggo brands, and will comprise more than 15 million subscribers. It should be mentioned that Vodafone represents the second-largest mobile network operator in the Netherlands, trailing state telecom firm KPN. Meanwhile, Liberty’s Ziggo represents the largest cable operator in the country, while KPN takes the second spot in this specific sector. More importantly, KPN is the largest Internet service provider in the Netherlands at the moment. However, LIBERTY GLOBAL PLC (NASDAQ:LBTYK) appears to be well-positioned to compete and gain market share in this highly-competitive market, thanks to the freshly-inked agreement.

How have hedgies been trading LIBERTY GLOBAL PLC (NASDAQ:LBTYK)?

At Q4’s end, a total of 74 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a decline of 17% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly (or had already accumulated large positions).

When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Boykin Curry’s Eagle Capital Management has the most valuable position in LIBERTY GLOBAL PLC (NASDAQ:LBTYK), worth close to $1.34 billion, comprising 5.5% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is John H. Scully of SPO Advisory Corp, with a $680.5 million position; the fund has 11.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish comprise First Eagle Investment Management, Lee Ainslie’s Maverick Capital and Lou Simpson’s SQ Advisors.