Insider Trading 06 September 2013: Bill Gates Big Seller of Microsoft

by Asif Suria

Insider buying decreased with insiders purchasing $25.89 million of their stock last week compared to $47.13 million in the week prior. Selling increased with insiders selling $1.44 billion of stock last week compared to $917.32 million 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 increased to 58.28. In other words, insiders sold more than 58 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 19.46.

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 September 6, 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. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (VRX): $100.24

Director Fred Hassan acquired 51,000 shares of this Canadian pharmaceutical company, paying $99.01 per share for a total amount of $5.05 million. Mr. Hassan increased his stake by 1717.75% to 53,969 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. here.

2. Biglari Holdings Inc. (BH): $418.13

Chairman and CEO Sardar Biglari, acquired 7,145 shares of this restaurant chain, paying $420.10 per share for a total amount of $3 million. Mr. Biglari, increased his stake by 70.93% to 17,218 shares with this purchase.

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

3. Nuverra Environmental Solutions, Inc. (NES): $2.58

Shares of this waste management company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• CEO & Vice -Chairman Mark D. Johnsrud acquired 900,000 shares, paying $2.31 per share for a total amount of $2.08 million. Mr. Johnsrud increased his stake by 0.95% to 95,900,000 shares with this purchase.
• Director Robert Simonds acquired 25,000 shares, paying $2.30 per share for a total amount of $57,500. Mr. Simonds increased his stake by 19.61% to 152,500 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Nuverra Environmental Solutions, Inc. here.

4. Commercial Vehicle Group Inc. (CVGI): $7.58

Shares of this auto parts company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director Arnold B. Siemer acquired 138,300 shares, paying $7.41 per share for a total amount of $1.02 million. Mr. Siemer increased his stake by 4.51% to 3,204,952 shares with this purchase.
• President and CEO Richard P. Lavin acquired 13,790 shares, paying $7.42 per share for a total amount of $102,289. Mr. Lavin increased his stake by 13.79% to 113,790 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Commercial Vehicle Group Inc. here.

5. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB): $20.01

Director Scott A. Schoen acquired 50,000 shares of this asset management company, paying $19.61 per share for a total amount of $980,640.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): $31.152

Shares of Microsoft were sold by 3 insiders:

• Founder Bill Gates sold 5,000,000 shares for $31.25, generating $156.27 million from the sale.
• Chief Operating Officer Brian Kevin Turner sold 177,742 shares for $31.36, generating $5.57 million from the sale. 120,920 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• EVP, Marketing Tami Reller sold 5,800 shares for $31.76, generating $184,208 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 Microsoft Corporation here.

2. Tornier N.V. (TRNX): $18.89

Director Alain Tornier sold 1,202,208 shares of this medical device company for $18.17, generating $21.84 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by KCH Oslo AS.

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

3. Kirby Corporation (KEX): $82.77

Shares of this shipping company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chairman and CEO J H. Pyne sold 160,007 shares for $80.34, generating $12.85 million from the sale.
• Director David L. Lemmon sold 6,000 shares for $82.56, generating $495,349 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 Kirby Corporation here.

4. ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW): $46.95

Shares of this software-as-a-service provider were sold by 4 insiders:

• CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER Frederic B. Luddy sold 162,000 shares for $47.20, generating $7.65 million from the sale. 12,000 of these shares were sold indirectly by Mr. Luddy’s spouse.
• CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Michael Scarpelli sold 50,000 shares for $46.77, generating $2.34 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• PRESIDENT & CEO Frank Slootman sold 40,000 shares for $46.90, generating $1.88 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Director Paul V. Barber sold 17,531 shares for $47.00, generating $824,001 from the sale. 2,776 of these shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

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

5. hhgregg, Inc. (HGG): $17.1

Executive VP and COO Gregg W. Throgmartin sold 552,553 shares of this electronics store for $18.19, generating $10.05 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

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

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