Insider Trading 08 August 2014: Equity Residential, Liberty Media, ServiceNow Selling

by Asif Suria

Insider buying increased last week with insiders buying $113.26 million of stock compared to $60.16 million in the week prior. Selling on the other hand declined with insiders selling $961.05 million of stock last week compared to $1.34 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 down to 8.49. In other words, insiders sold more than 8 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 22.36.

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.

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. Tile Shop Holdings, Inc. (TTS): $11.09

Shares of this retailer and manufacturer of stone tiles were acquired by 5 insiders:

• Director Peter H. Kamin acquired 290,187 shares, paying $10.00 per share for a total amount of $2.9 million. Mr. Kamin increased his stake by 326.52% to 379,059 shares with this purchase. 200,000 of these shares were purchased indirectly by various entities.
• Director Adam L. Suttin acquired 50,000 shares, paying $10.02 per share for a total amount of $501,124. Mr. Suttin increased his stake by 12.39% to 453,489 shares with this purchase.
• Director William E. Watts acquired 40,000 shares, paying $9.96 per share for a total amount of $398,400. Mr. Watts increased his stake by 14.30% to 319,814 shares with this purchase.
• Director Peter J. Jacullo III acquired 35,000 shares, paying $9.92 per share for a total amount of $347,050. Mr. Jacullo increased his stake by 64.08% to 89,619 shares with this purchase.
• Director Todd Krasnow acquired 22,500 shares, paying $10.05 per share for a total amount of $226,212. Mr. Krasnow increased his stake by 15.09% to 171,586 shares with this purchase. 10,000 of these shares were purchased indirectly through a trust and 2,500 shares were purchased indirectly by Mr. Krasnow’s spouse.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Tile Shop Holdings, Inc. here.

2. Intevac Inc. (IVAC): $6.65

Shares of this electronics company were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Director Matthew A. Drapkin acquired 486,928 shares, paying $6.34 per share for a total amount of $3.09 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Becker Drapkin Partners, L.P.
• Director Stanley J. Hill acquired 10,000 shares, paying $6.16 per share for a total amount of $61,600. Mr. Hill increased his stake by 17.54% to 67,000 shares with this purchase.

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

3. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (PNC): $81.72

Director Andrew T. Feldstein acquired 25,000 shares of this financial services company, paying $81.87 per share for a total amount of $2.05 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through trusts.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. here.

4. Republic Services, Inc. (RSG): $38.71

Director Wallace Lee Nutter acquired 30,000 shares of this waste management company, paying $38.04 per share for a total amount of $1.14 million. Mr. Nutter increased his stake by 9036.14% to 30,332 shares with this purchase.

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

5. Hexcel Corp. (HXL): $37.92

Director David L. Pugh acquired 27,000 shares of this aerospace/defense products company, paying $37.14 per share for a total amount of $1 million. Mr. Pugh increased his stake by 540.00% to 32,000 shares with this purchase.

Voluntary Disclosure: I hold a long position in HXL.

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

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Equity Residential (EQR): $65.02

Shares of this apartment REIT were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Samuel Zell sold 2,000,000 shares for $64.85, generating $129.69 million from the sale.
• Director Gerald A. Spector sold 33,048 shares for $65.32, generating $2.16 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 Equity Residential here.

2. Liberty Media Corporation (LMCA): $46.5

Chairman of the Board John C. Malone sold 204,688 shares of this broadcasting company for $46.41, generating $9.49 million from the sale.

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

3. ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW): $55

Chief Product Officer Frederic B. Luddy sold 151,400 shares of this software-as-a-service provider for $56.11, generating $8.49 million from the sale. 50,000 of these shares were sold indirectly by Frederic B. Luddy CRT, LLC and 1,490 shares were sold indirectly by Mr. Luddy’s spouse.

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

4. Post Properties Inc. (PPS): $54.23

Shares of this residential REIT were sold by 4 insiders:

• Director Robert C. Goddard sold 95,000 shares for $55.21, generating $5.24 million from the sale.
• Director Russell R. French sold 17,318 shares for $55.20, generating $955,933 from the sale.7,500 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• EVP and Secretary Sherry W. Cohen sold 10,127 shares for $54.42, generating $551,107 from the sale. 1,419 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• EVP & Chief Investment Officer David C. Ward sold 8,579 shares for $54.38, generating $466,551 from the sale. 6,640 of 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 Post Properties Inc. here.

5. Trinity Industries Inc. (TRN): $42.52

Shares of this railroads company were sold by two insiders:

• Senior Vice President William A. McWhirter sold 108,676 shares of this railroads company for $44.47, generating $4.83 million from the sale.
• Senior Vice President Stephen D. Menzies sold 34,676 shares for $44.02, generating $1.53 million from the sale.

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

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

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