Insider Trading 06 February 2015: Bill Gates Sells Another $206 Million of Microsoft

by Asif Suria

Insider buying decreased last week with insiders buying $97.23 million of stock compared to $196.76 million in the week prior. Selling also edged down with insiders selling $1.41 billion of stock last week compared to $1.49 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 14.51. In other words, insiders sold more than 14 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 7.56.

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 6, 2015

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. Hess Corporation (HES): $72.97

Chief Executive Officer John B. Hess acquired 57,506 shares of this integrated energy company, paying $69.52 per share for a total amount of $3.99 million. Mr. Hess increased his stake by 3.98% to 1,501,229 shares with this purchase. 28,753 of these shares were acquired indirectly by a family LLC.

It is interesting to see yet another insider purchase by the CEO of an energy company. While Hess’ numbers look very attractive, the decline in oil prices have not yet been factored into these numbers. Hess missed fourth quarter earnings estimates of 28 cents per share but still managed to post a profit of 18 cents a share driven by a 19% decline in revenue. The decline in revenue and earnings would have been even sharper had the company not hedged its exposure to oil prices. As some of those hedges wind down over the next few months, results are likely to get worse before they get better given the company’s exposure to production from North Dakota’s Bakken shale and Ohio’s Utica shale regions.

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

2. Green Dot Corporation (GDOT): $15.42

Chairman, President and CEO Steven W. Streit acquired 206,800 shares of this technology-centric, consumer bank holding company, paying $14.45 per share for a total amount of $2.99 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

This purchase follows a big decline in the stock of Green Dot, the company known for its prepaid debit cards. The stock declined more than 23% last week after the company reported disappointing results and swung to a loss of 2 cents per share despite 6% top line growth. For the full year 2015, the company expects revenue to grow 18% to 28% to between $720 million and $780 million and non-GAAP earnings to range from $1.24 to $1.47.

At its current price, the stock appears to be trading close to the valuation of a regional bank instead of a disruptive financial services company.

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

3. CARBO Ceramics Inc. (CRR): $36.19

Director William C. Morris acquired 39,995 shares of this manufacturer of ceramic proppants primarily used in the hydraulic fracturing of natural gas and oil wells, paying $34.38 per share for a total amount of $1.38 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Mr. Morris’s wife.

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

4. Biglari Holdings Inc. (BH): $418.22

Chairman and CEO Sardar Biglari, acquired 2,598 shares of this restaurant holding company, paying $411.91 per share for a total amount of $1.07 million. These shares were acquired indirectly through The Lion Fund.

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

5. United States Steel Corp. (X): $23.19

Shares of this steel company were acquired by 3 insiders:

• Exec. VP and CFO David B. Burritt acquired 40,083 shares, paying $24.90 per share for a total amount of $998,039. Mr. Burritt increased his stake by 30.45% to 171,701 shares with this purchase.
• Director Patricia Diaz Dennis acquired 1,000 shares, paying $24.00 per share for a total amount of $24,000.
• Director Robert J. Stevens acquired 1,000 shares, paying $22.86 per share for a total amount of $22,859.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for United States Steel Corp. here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): $42.41

Shares of Microsoft were sold by 2 insiders:

• Founder Bill Gates sold 5,000,000 shares for $41.25, generating $206.27 million from the sale.
• Chief Accounting Officer Frank H. Brod sold 6,000 shares for $41.83, generating $250,980 from the sale.

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

2. Family Dollar Stores Inc. (FDO): $77.35

Shares of this retail discount store chain were sold by 4 insiders:

• Chief Executive Officer Howard R. Levine sold 1,766,407 shares for $76.26, generating $134.71 million from the sale.
• Director Pamela Lewis Davies sold 2,731 shares for $77.38, generating $211,325 from the sale.
• Director Fund Management, Trian sold 500 shares for $76.30, generating $38,150 from the sale.
• Director Edward P. Garden sold 500 shares for $76.30, generating $38,150 from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a fund.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Family Dollar Stores Inc. here.

3. The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW): $29.11

Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 722,391 shares of this investment brokerage for $27.33, generating $19.74 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The Charles Schwab Corporation here.

4. Cimpress N.V. (CMPR): $82.33

Shares of this business services company (operator of Vistaprint) were sold by 2 insiders:

• CEO, President Robert S. Keane sold 99,400 shares for $80.00, generating $7.95 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through various entities. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Chief Financial Officer Ernst Teunissen sold 50,535 shares for $80.00, generating $4.04 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Cimpress N.V. here.

5. The Ultimate Software Group, Inc. (ULTI): $158.47

Shares of this software-as-a-service (SAAS) provider were sold by 3 insiders:

• Vice-Chairman & COO Marc D. Scherr sold 25,000 shares for $156.64, generating $3.92 million from the sale.
• Chairman, President and CEO Scott Scherr sold 25,000 shares for $156.61, generating $3.93 million from the sale.
• Director James A. Fitzpatrick sold 1,047 shares for $157.12, generating $164,505 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The Ultimate Software Group, Inc. here.

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

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