Insider Trading 08 February 2013: Bill Gates Sells $399 Million of Microsoft

by Asif Suria

Insider buying increased with insiders purchasing $53.87 million of their stock last week compared to $34.13 million in the week prior. Selling also increased with insiders selling $1.65 billion of stock last week compared to $1.03 billion in the week prior.

Sell/Buy Ratio: The insider Sell/Buy ratio is calculated by dividing the total insider sales in a given week by total insider purchases that week. The adjusted ratio for last week went up to 30.7. In other words, insiders sold almost 31 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 30.23.

We are calculating an adjusted ratio by removing transactions by funds and companies and trying as best as possible only to retain information about insiders and 10% owners who are not funds or companies.

Insider Sell Buy Ratio February 8, 2013

Note: As mentioned in the first post in this series, certain industries have their preferred metrics such as same store sales for retailers, funds from operations (FFO) for REITs and revenue per available room (RevPAR) for hotels that provide a better basis for comparison than simple valuation metrics. However metrics like Price/Earnings, Price/Sales and Enterprise Value/EBITDA included below should provide a good starting point for analyzing the majority of stocks.

Notable Insider Buys:

1. Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM): $65.3

Director Robert D. Walter acquired 35,000 shares of this restaurant chain, paying $61.95 per share for a total amount of $2.17 million. Mr. Walter increased his stake by 67.30% to 87,003 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Yum! Brands, Inc. here.

2. CarMax Inc. (KMX): $39.77

Director Rakesh Gangwal acquired 30,000 shares of this retailer of used vehicles, paying $39.43 per share for a total amount of $1.18 million. Mr. Gangwal increased his stake by 857.14% to 33,500 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for CarMax Inc. here.

3. Texas Industries Inc. (TXI): $57.31

Shares of this cement company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director Bernard Lanigan Jr. acquired 20,000 shares, paying $55.92 per share for a total amount of $1.12 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.
• Director Sean P. Foley acquired 1,000 shares, paying $56.48 per share for a total amount of $56,476. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust. These shares were purchased indirectly by Conifer Partners II, LLC.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Texas Industries Inc. here.

4. GigaMedia Ltd. (GIGM): $1.1

CEO Collin Hwang acquired 961,200 shares of this online gaming company, paying $0.96 per share for a total amount of $922,753. These are old transactions from December.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for GigaMedia Ltd. here.

5. Computer Programs & Systems Inc. (CPSI): $48.92

Shares of this healthcare information technology company were acquired by 3 insiders:

• President and CEO John B. Douglas acquired 4,100 shares, paying $47.41 per share for a total amount of $194,381. Mr. Douglas increased his stake by 2.85% to 148,083 shares with this purchase.
• CFO, Secretary and Treasurer David A. Dye acquired 4,100 shares, paying $47.41 per share for a total amount of $194,381. Mr. Dye increased his stake by 11.37% to 40,150 shares with this purchase.
• SVP – Prod. Develop. Services Michael K. Muscat Jr. acquired 3,600 shares, paying $47.81 per share for a total amount of $172,116. These shares were purchased by the reporting person as custodian for minor children.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Computer Programs & Systems Inc. here.

You can view the full list of purchases from this Insider Buying page.

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): $27.55

Founder Bill Gates sold 14,500,000 shares of Microsoft for $27.53, generating $399.17 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Microsoft Corporation here.

2. Robert Half International Inc. (RHI): $35.46

Chairman & CEO Harold M. Messmer Jr. sold 200,000 shares of this staffing & outsourcing services provider for $35.76, generating $7.15 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Robert Half International Inc. here.

3. Raymond James Financial, Inc. (RJF): $45.31

Shares of this investment brokerage were sold by 3 insiders:

• Executive Chairman Thomas A. James sold 76,320 shares for $45.43, generating $3.47 million from the sale.
• Chief Executive Officer Paul C. Reilly sold 40,000 shares for $45.25, generating $1.8 million from the sale.
• Executive Vice President – RJF Jeffrey E. Trocin sold 16,000 shares for $45.13, generating $722,146 from the sale. 362 of these shares were sold indirectly by Mr. Trocin’s daughters.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Raymond James Financial, Inc. here.

4. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM): $201.68

Shares of IBM were sold by 3 insiders:

• Senior Vice President Rodney C. Adkins sold 13,796 shares for $200.30, generating $2.76 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• Senior Vice President Robert C. Weber sold 11,500 shares for $201.08, generating $2.31 million from the sale.
• Senior Vice President Michael D. Rhodin sold 3,100 shares for $204.14, generating $632,846 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for International Business Machines Corporation here.

5. NVR Inc. (NVR): $1004.17

Shares of this home builder were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chief Financial Officer Dennis M. Seremet sold 4,452 shares for $1,004.70, generating $4.47 million from the sale.
• Director William Grady Rosier sold 324 shares for $1,007.70, generating $326,495 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for NVR Inc. here.

You can view the full list of sales from this Insider Sales page.