Revlon Inc (NYSE:REV) was in 7 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. REV has experienced an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds recently. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with REV holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
To most market participants, hedge funds are perceived as unimportant, old investment vehicles of years past. While there are more than 8000 funds with their doors open at present, we at Insider Monkey choose to focus on the top tier of this club, around 450 funds. It is widely believed that this group has its hands on most of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by paying attention to their best picks, we have identified a number of investment strategies that have historically outpaced the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points per annum for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outpaced the S&P 500 index by 24 percentage points in 7 months (see the details here).
Just as important, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the world of equities. There are many motivations for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if you understand what to do (learn more here).
Consequently, it’s important to take a gander at the recent action surrounding Revlon Inc (NYSE:REV).
How have hedgies been trading Revlon Inc (NYSE:REV)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 17% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, Gotham Asset Management, managed by Joel Greenblatt, holds the biggest position in Revlon Inc (NYSE:REV). Gotham Asset Management has a $0.8 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Israel Englander of Millennium Management, with a $0.5 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies that hold long positions include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.
Now, key money managers have been driving this bullishness. Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, initiated the largest position in Revlon Inc (NYSE:REV). Renaissance Technologies had 0.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter.
Insider trading activity in Revlon Inc (NYSE:REV)
Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time period, Revlon Inc (NYSE:REV) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Revlon Inc (NYSE:REV). These stocks are Blyth, Inc. (NYSE:BTH), Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR), Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:NUS), Inter Parfums, Inc. (NASDAQ:IPAR), and Elizabeth Arden, Inc. (NASDAQ:RDEN). All of these stocks are in the personal products industry and their market caps resemble REV’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Blyth, Inc. (NYSE:BTH) | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ENR) | 24 | 1 | 8 |
| Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:NUS) | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| Inter Parfums, Inc. (NASDAQ:IPAR) | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| Elizabeth Arden, Inc. (NASDAQ:RDEN) | 11 | 0 | 4 |
With the results shown by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, everyday investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Revlon Inc (NYSE:REV) is no exception.
