Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) was in 25 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. MAS has seen a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds recently. There were 27 hedge funds in our database with MAS holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In the financial world, there are tons of gauges market participants can use to track stocks. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite fund managers can beat their index-focused peers by a significant margin (see just how much).
Just as important, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the investments you’re interested in. There are a variety of motivations for an upper level exec to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a gander at the latest action surrounding Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS).
Hedge fund activity in Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS)
Heading into 2013, a total of 25 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -7% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, Pzena Investment Management, managed by Richard S. Pzena, holds the most valuable position in Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS). Pzena Investment Management has a $199 million billion position in the stock, comprising 1.6% of its 13F portfolio. On Pzena Investment Management’s heels is Appaloosa Management LP, managed by David Tepper, which held a $68 million position; 3.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other peers that are bullish include Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Patrick Degorce’s Theleme Partners.
Due to the fact that Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) has faced declining sentiment from the smart money, logic holds that there is a sect of money managers that decided to sell off their positions entirely heading into 2013. At the top of the heap, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies dropped the biggest position of all the hedgies we track, valued at close to $5 million in stock., and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson of Adage Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $4 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds heading into 2013.
What have insiders been doing with Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time frame, Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) has experienced 2 unique insiders purchasing, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns exhibited by the aforementioned research, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) is no exception.
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