Should You Avoid Roper Industries, Inc. (ROP)?

Roper Industries, Inc. (NYSE:ROP) was in 19 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. ROP has experienced a decrease in hedge fund sentiment in recent months. There were 19 hedge funds in our database with ROP holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

Roper Industries, Inc. (NYSE:ROP)At the moment, there are many methods market participants can use to track stocks. Some of the most under-the-radar 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 top investment managers can outclass the broader indices by a very impressive margin (see just how much).

Equally as important, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are a variety of stimuli for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if investors know what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a glance at the latest action encompassing Roper Industries, Inc. (NYSE:ROP).

How have hedgies been trading Roper Industries, Inc. (NYSE:ROP)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 19 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.

When looking at the hedgies we track, David Harding’s Winton Capital Management had the biggest position in Roper Industries, Inc. (NYSE:ROP), worth close to $27.1 million, accounting for 0.5% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, which held a $23.7 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include Alexander Mitchell’s Scopus Asset Management, Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley’s Polar Capital and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management.

Judging by the fact that Roper Industries, Inc. (NYSE:ROP) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there was a specific group of money managers that slashed their positions entirely heading into Q2. It’s worth mentioning that Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management sold off the biggest position of all the hedgies we watch, valued at an estimated $6.2 million in stock., and Bruce Kovner of Caxton Associates LP was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $4.5 million worth. These moves are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

How are insiders trading Roper Industries, Inc. (NYSE:ROP)?

Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, Roper Industries, Inc. (NYSE:ROP) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the returns exhibited by Insider Monkey’s research, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Roper Industries, Inc. (NYSE:ROP) is an important part of this process.

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