Insider Trading 17 August 2012: Google Insiders Big Seller’s this Week

by Asif Suria

Insider buying increased slightly with insiders purchasing $57.63 million of their stock last week compared to $54.1 million in the week prior. Selling increased sharply with insiders selling $3.63 billion worth of stock last week compared to $1.1 billion in the week prior. The big jump in insider selling and hence the Sell/Buy ratio was primarily driven by large sales of Kinder Morgan (KMI) by Goldman Sachs and sales of Dunkin’ Brands (DNKN) by a group of private equity firms.

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 increased to 63.08. In other words, insiders sold more than 63 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 20.5.

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 August 17, 2012

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. Dole Food Company Inc. (DOLE): $12.77

Chairman David H. Murdock acquired 959,759 shares of this fresh fruits and vegetables producer, paying $12.46 per share for a total amount of $11.96 million.

Mr. Murdock has stepped up his purchases of Dole and now owns 63.5% of Dole’s outstanding stock. With profit margins below 1%, over $1.5 billion in net debt and trading at 9 times EBITDA, the stock isn’t exactly cheap.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Dole Food Company Inc. here.

2. Equity One Inc. (EQY): $21.21

Chairman Chaim Katzman acquired 500,000 shares of this shopping center REIT, paying $21.20 per share for a total amount of $10.6 million.

These shares were acquired indirectly through MGN (USA) Inc. MGN USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gazit-Globe. Mr. Katzman serves as the President and is one of the principal investors of Gazit-Globe. These shares were not acquired through an open market purchase but through a private placement.

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

3. United Continental Holdings, Inc. (UAL): $18.4

Shares of this airline were acquired by 6 insiders:

• President and CEO Jeffery A. Smisek acquired 55,600 shares, paying $18.00 per share for a total amount of $1 million. Mr. Smisek increased his stake by 19.61% to 339,184 shares with this purchase.
• Exec VP Comm & Gov Affairs Irene E. Foxhall acquired 13,500 shares, paying $18.21 per share for a total amount of $245,811. Mr. Foxhall increased his stake by 40.61% to 46,747 shares with this purchase.
• EVP and CFO John D. Rainey acquired 13,500 shares, paying $18.25 per share for a total amount of $246,438. Mr. Rainey increased his stake by 56.89% to 37,232 shares with this purchase.
• Exec VP and Chief Revenue Officer James E. Compton acquired 13,500 shares, paying $18.30 per share for a total amount of $247,050. Mr. Compton increased his stake by 25.58% to 66,281 shares with this purchase.
• Exec VP and COO Peter D. Mcdonald acquired 13,500 shares, paying $18.02 per share for a total amount of $243,270. Mr. Mcdonald increased his stake by 35.31% to 51,731 shares with this purchase.
• Exec VP HR and Labor Relations Michael P. Bonds acquired 13,500 shares, paying $18.03 per share for a total amount of $243,385. Mr. Bonds increased his stake by 43.38% to 44,619 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for United Continental Holdings, Inc. here.

4. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $4.31

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 305,000 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $4.22 per share for a total amount of $1.29 million.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Opko Health, Inc. here.

5. E*TRADE Financial Corporation (ETFC): $8.57

Shares of this investment brokerage were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Board Member Frank J. Petrilli acquired 119,250 shares, paying $8.39 per share for a total amount of $999,995. Mr. Petrilli increased his stake by 639.86% to 137,887 shares with this purchase.
• Director Rodger A. Lawson acquired 7,528 shares, paying $8.45 per share for a total amount of $63,611. Mr. Lawson increased his stake by 96.11% to 15,361 shares with this purchase.

Mr. Petrilli is the Chairman of the Board and is currently serving in the role of interim CEO after the company booted out its CEO two weeks ago.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for E*TRADE Financial Corporation here.

Voluntary Disclosure: I hold a long position in E*Trade in my trading portfolio.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Google Inc. (GOOG): $677.14

Shares of Google were sold by 4 insiders:

• Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 195,400 shares for $668.60, generating $130.64 million from the sale. Some of these shares were sold indirectly through a limited partnership and by Mr. Shriram’s spouse.
• Chief Executive Officer Larry  Page sold 83,334 shares for $663.66, generating $55.31 million from the sale. These shares were sold following the conversion of class B common stock to class A shares.
• SVP and Chief Business Officer Nikesh Arora sold 1,686 shares for $646.98, generating $1.09 million from the sale.
• Director John L. Hennessy sold 650 shares for $25.00, generating $16,250 from the sale. These shares were sold following the conversion of class B common stock to class A shares.

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

2. AMC Networks Inc. (AMCX): $40.62

Executive Chairman Charles F. Dolan sold 1,750,000 shares of this cable TV channel operator for $41.38, generating $72.41 million from the sale.

These shares were sold following the conversion of class B shares to class A shares. According to a press release issued by the company, these shares were sold for “liquidity and tax planning purposes”.

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

3. Equity One Inc. (EQY): $21.21

Director Nathan Hetz sold 1,000,000 shares of this shopping center REIT for $21.03, generating $21.03 million from the sale.

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

4. Middleby Corp. (MIDD): $117.68

Shares of this commercial food equipment company company were sold by 2 insiders:

• CEO, Chairman, President Selim A. Bassoul sold 164,770 shares for $107.32, generating $17.68 million from the sale.
• Treasurer Martin M. Lindsay sold 10,000 shares for $114.73, generating $1.14 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Middleby Corp. here.

5. Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI): $58.65

Shares of this television and internet businesses operator were sold by 6 insiders:

• Chairman, President & CEO Kenneth W. Lowe sold 83,400 shares for $59.86, generating $4.99 million from the sale.
• President, Scripps Networks John F. Lansing sold 79,158 shares for $60.98, generating $4.83 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Chief Financial & Admin. Officer Joseph G. Necastro sold 71,809 shares for $60.98, generating $4.38 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• EVP, Human Resources Christopher R. Powell sold 20,581 shares for $60.00, generating $1.23 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• SVP, Dep. GC & Assistant Corporate Secretary Mary E. Ray sold 4,703 shares for $60.05, generating $282,415 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Director John H. Burlingame sold 2,500 shares for $60.99, generating $152,472 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Scripps Networks Interactive here.

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

Other posts by Asif Suria

About the Author

Asif Suria is the founder and editor of Insider Trade Reports, a service that provides daily reports on insider activity and rates the top insider purchases and sales using a proprietary model. He also maintains a Merger Arbitrage tool that displays real-time spreads and covers mergers and acquisitions on a weekly basis.