At Holdings Channel, we have reviewed the latest batch of the 31 most recent 13F filings for the 09/30/2014 reporting period, and noticed that EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) was held by 14 of these funds. When hedge fund managers appear to be thinking alike, we find it is a good idea to take a closer look.
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Before we proceed, it is important to point out that 13F filings do not tell the whole story, because these funds are only required to disclose their long positions with the SEC, but are not required to disclose their short positions. A fund making a bearish bet against a stock by shorting calls, for example, might also be long some amount of stock as they trade around their overall bearish position. This long component could show up in a 13F filing and everyone might assume the fund is bullish, but this tells only part of the story because the bearish/short side of the position is not seen.
Having given that caveat, we believe that looking at groups of 13F filings can be revealing, especially when comparing one holding period to another. Below, let's take a look at the change in EMC positions, for this latest batch of 13F filers:
| Fund | New Position? | Change In Share Count | Change In Market Value ($ in 1000's) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tradition Capital Management LLC | Existing | -4,647 | +$445 |
| Brandes Investment Partners LP | Existing | +41,811 | +$2,781 |
| Syntal Capital Partners LLC | Existing | UNCH | $UNCH |
| SNS Financial Group LLC | NEW | +7,100 | +$208 |
| CapWealth Advisors LLC | Existing | +523 | +$588 |
| Oaktop Capital Management II L.P. | Existing | UNCH | +$2,039 |
| National Independent Trust Co. | Existing | -1,327 | +$229 |
| AGF Investments Inc. | Existing | UNCH | +$2 |
| Dana Investment Advisors Inc. | Existing | UNCH | +$38 |
| 1832 Asset Management L.P. | Existing | -522 | +$1,606 |
| American International Group Inc. | Existing | +20,225 | +$3,313 |
| Nicholas Co. Inc. WI | Existing | UNCH | +$103 |
| Gerstein Fisher | Existing | +15,158 | +$475 |
| SSI Investment Management Inc. | Existing | UNCH | +$23 |
| Aggregate Change: | +78,321 | +$11,850 | |
In terms of shares owned, we count 4 of the above funds having increased existing EMC positions from 06/30/2014 to 09/30/2014, with 3 having decreased their positions and 1 new position.
Looking beyond these particular funds in this one batch of most recent filers, we tallied up the EMC share count in the aggregate among all of the funds which held EMC at the 09/30/2014 reporting period (out of the 1,532 we looked at in total). We then compared that number to the sum total of EMC shares those same funds held back at the 06/30/2014 period, to see how the aggregate share count held by hedge funds has moved for EMC. We found that between these two periods, funds reduced their holdings by 9,535,241 shares in the aggregate, from 427,547,621 down to 418,012,380 for a share count decline of approximately -2.23%. The overall top three funds holding EMC on 09/30/2014 were:
| Fund | Shares of EMC Held | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | State Street Corp | 81,055,270 |
| 2. | Manning & Napier Advisors LLC | 24,905,496 |
| 3. | Wells Fargo & Company MN | 19,753,782 |
| 4-10 | Find out the full Top 10 Hedge Funds Holding EMC |
We'll keep following the latest 13F filings by hedge fund managers and bring you interesting stories derived from a look at the aggregate information across groups of managers between filing periods. While looking at individual 13F filings can sometimes be misleading due to the long-only nature of the information, the sum total across groups of funds from one reporting period to another can be a lot more revealing and relevant, providing interesting stock ideas that merit further research, like EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC).
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