Should You Buy Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS)?

Is Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) a bargain? The best stock pickers are in an optimistic mood. The number of bullish hedge fund positions increased by 3 lately.

To the average investor, there are dozens of metrics investors can use to analyze stocks. Some of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite investment managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS)

Just as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the marketplace. There are a number of incentives for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if investors know where to look (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a gander at the recent action regarding Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS).

How have hedgies been trading Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS)?

At year’s end, a total of 21 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 17% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Michael Price’s MFP Investors had the most valuable position in Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS), worth close to $16 million, accounting for 2.3% of its total 13F portfolio. On MFP Investors’s heels is GMT Capital, managed by Thomas E. Claugus, which held a $12 million position; the fund has 0.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include Debra Fine’s Fine Capital Partners, Amy Minella’s Cardinal Capital and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital.

Consequently, some big names were breaking ground themselves. Arrowstreet Capital, managed by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, established the most valuable position in Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS). Arrowstreet Capital had 7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies also initiated a $6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and Douglas W. Case’s Advanced Investment Partners.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last 180-day time period, Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the results shown by our strategies, retail investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) is an important part of this process.

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