Molson Coors Brewing Company (TAP): Insiders Aren’t Crazy About It

Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are many metrics investors can use to track Mr. Market. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a solid margin (see just how much).

Equally as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the marketplace. Obviously, there are lots of reasons for an executive to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if “monkeys” know where to look (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the latest action encompassing Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP).

How have hedgies been trading Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 19 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -17% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes meaningfully.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Levin Capital Strategies, managed by John A. Levin, holds the most valuable position in Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP). Levin Capital Strategies has a $148.3 million position in the stock, comprising 2.6% of its 13F portfolio. On Levin Capital Strategies’s heels is Pzena Investment Management, managed by Richard S. Pzena, which held a $125.3 million position; the fund has 0.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that hold long positions include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital and David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments.

Seeing as Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP) has witnessed falling interest from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there exists a select few fund managers that slashed their full holdings at the end of the first quarter. Interestingly, Charles Clough’s Clough Capital Partners cut the biggest position of the 450+ funds we track, worth about $17.1 million in stock.. Michael Messner’s fund, Seminole Capital (Investment Mgmt), also said goodbye to its stock, about $5.4 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 4 funds at the end of the first quarter.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP)?

Insider buying is best served when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time period, Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP). These stocks are Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (ADR) (NYSE:BUD), Companhia de Bebidas das Americas (ADR) (NYSE:ABV), Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM), and Compania Cervecerias Unidas S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:CCU). This group of stocks are in the beverages – brewers industry and their market caps match TAP’s market cap.