Insider Trading 06 June 2014: Secect Medical Holdings and Carnival Corporation Selling

by Asif Suria

Insider buying more than quadrupled last week with insiders buying $115.81 million of stock compared to $26.37 million in the week prior. Selling on the other hand decreased with insiders selling $2.29 billion of stock last week compared to $3.04 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 dropped to 19.77. In other words, insiders sold almost 20 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 115.19.

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 June 6, 2014

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. Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI): $35.08

Director Fayez Sarofim acquired 400,000 shares of this oil & gas pipelines company, paying $33.82 per share for a total amount of $13.53 million. Mr. Sarofim increased his stake by 1.79% to 22,789,655 shares with this purchase.

Mr. Sarofim’s purchase makes him the fifth insider of Kinder Morgan to purchase shares this year. The size of his purchase eclipsed Chairman Richard Kinder’s nearly $10 million purchase in February. There have been no insider sales at the company since 2012.

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

2. The Fresh Market, Inc. (TFM): $33.43

Director Ray D. Berry acquired 435,000 shares of this grocery store chain, paying $30.47 per share for a total amount of $13.25 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

It is interesting to see continued insider purchases at The Fresh Market. Mr. Berry is the fifth insider to purchase shares this year. The stock has been declining since last August and nearly lost half its value when it touched a 52 week low of $28.60 in late May.

Trading at less than 9 times EBITDA and posting double digit revenue growth, the company is on my radar along with its peer Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC), which also saw a cluster on insider purchases last month.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The Fresh Market, Inc. here.

3. MBIA Inc. (MBI): $12.77

Chief Executive Officer Joseph W. Brown acquired 62,165 shares of this surety & title insurance company, paying $11.71 per share for a total amount of $728,021. Mr. Brown increased his stake by 1.68% to 3,765,763 shares with this purchase.

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

4. DSW Inc. (DSW): $27

Shares of this footwear retailer were acquired by 3 insiders:

• Vice Chairman & Chief Merchandising Officer Deborah L. Ferree acquired 20,000 shares, paying $25.72 per share for a total amount of $514,468. Ms. Ferree increased her stake by 28.36% to 90,533 shares with this purchase.
• Senior Vice President Mary E. Meixelsperger acquired 4,000 shares, paying $25.56 per share for a total amount of $102,232.
• EVP, General Counsel & Secretary William L. Jordan acquired 1,000 shares, paying $25.65 per share for a total amount of $25,650. Mr. Jordan increased his stake by 3.58% to 28,928 shares with this purchase.

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

Voluntary Disclosure: I hold a long position in DSW.

5. Calamos Asset Management Inc. (CLMS): $13.15

Chairman, CEO & Global Co-CIO John P. Calamos Sr. acquired 45,571 shares of this asset management company, paying $12.92 per share for a total amount of $588,575. Mr. Calamos increased his stake by 1.36% to 3,392,904 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Calamos Asset Management Inc. here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Select Medical Holdings Corporation (SEM): $15.47

Shares of this hospital chain were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Russell L. Carson sold 4,979,283 shares for $13.49, generating $67.19 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through various entities.
• Vice Chairman and Co-Founder Rocco A. Ortenzio sold 666,000 shares for $15.03, generating $10.01 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Select Medical Holdings Corporation here.

2. Carnival Corporation (CCL): $40.25

Chairman of the Board Micky Meir Arison sold 1,146,388 shares of this cruise ship operator for $40.11, generating $45.99 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through various trusts and other entities.

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

3. Facebook, Inc. (FB): $62.5

Shares of Facebook were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg sold 283,334 shares for $63.56, generating $18 million from the sale.
• Chief Accounting Officer Jas Athwal sold 3,000 shares for $63.22, generating $189,660 from the sale.

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

4. ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW): $56.61

Shares of this software-as-a-service provider were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chief Product Officer Frederic B. Luddy sold 151,400 shares for $51.23, generating $7.76 million from the sale. 62,400 of these shares were sold indirectly through various entities.
• President & CEO Frank Slootman sold 120,000 shares for $50.31, generating $6.04 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 ServiceNow, Inc. here.

5. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (AMP): $118.04

Shares of this asset management company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Chairman and CEO James M. Cracchiolo sold 72,445 shares for $112.75, generating $8.17 million from the sale.
• Executive VP and CFO Walter Stanley Berman sold 15,000 shares for $112.94, generating $1.69 million from the sale.

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

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

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