Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (PCL): Insiders Aren’t Crazy About It But Hedge Funds Love It

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In the financial world, there are tons of methods shareholders can use to track Mr. Market. Some of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best hedge fund managers can beat the S&P 500 by a very impressive margin (see just how much).

Equally as key, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to analyze the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are lots of motivations for a bullish insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Many academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if you understand where to look (learn more here).

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s study the latest info surrounding Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE:PCL).

Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE:PCL)

Hedge fund activity in Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE:PCL)

At the end of the second quarter, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 25% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly.

When using filings from the hedgies we track, First Eagle Investment Management, managed by Matt McLennan, holds the most valuable position in Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE:PCL). First Eagle Investment Management has a $376.6 million position in the stock, comprising 1.1% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Winton Capital Management, managed by David Harding, which held a $16.3 million position; the fund has 0.2% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include Tom Gayner’s Markel Gayner Asset Management, and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management.

Now, particular hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. First Eagle Investment Management, managed by Matt McLennan, initiated the most outsized position in Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE:PCL). First Eagle Investment Management had 376.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. David Harding’s Winton Capital Management also initiated a $16.3 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Tom Gayner’s Markel Gayner Asset Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management.

Insider trading activity in Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE:PCL)

Insider buying made by high-level executives is best served when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time frame, Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE:PCL) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also review the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE:PCL). These stocks are Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE:SNH), American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC), Essex Property Trust Inc (NYSE:ESS), Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT), and UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR). This group of stocks are the members of the reit – residential industry and their market caps are similar to PCL’s market cap.

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