Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM): Insiders Are Dumping, Should You?

Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM) shareholders have witnessed an increase in enthusiasm from smart money lately.

To most stock holders, hedge funds are assumed to be worthless, old investment vehicles of yesteryear. While there are greater than 8000 funds trading at present, we at Insider Monkey look at the upper echelon of this group, close to 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group oversees the lion’s share of the smart money’s total asset base, and by monitoring their highest performing equity investments, we have figured out a number of investment strategies that have historically outpaced Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 25 percentage points in 6.5 month (see all of our picks from August).

Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM)

Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are a number of incentives for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Many academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if investors understand what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a look at the recent action encompassing Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM).

What does the smart money think about Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 56% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Fisher Asset Management, managed by Ken Fisher, holds the most valuable position in Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM). Fisher Asset Management has a $427 million position in the stock, comprising 1.2% of its 13F portfolio. On Fisher Asset Management’s heels is Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell of Arrowstreet Capital, with a $36 million position; 0.7% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers that are bullish include Ken Heebner’s Capital Growth Management, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Michael Larson’s Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Capital Growth Management, managed by Ken Heebner, initiated the most outsized position in Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM). Capital Growth Management had 26 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. William B. Gray’s Orbis Investment Management also initiated a $3 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new TM positions are Crispin Odey’s Odey Asset Management Group, Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management, and Jeffrey Vinik’s Vinik Asset Management.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time period, Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the returns shown by our tactics, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM) is no exception.

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