Insider Trading 13 March 2015: Stryker, Cigna, and Disney Selling

by Asif Suria

Insider buying increased last week with insiders buying $73.39 million of stock compared to $70.86 million in the week prior. Selling on the other hand decreased with insiders selling $1.24 billion of stock last week compared to $1.77 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 16.89. In other words, insiders sold almost 17 times as much stock as they purchased.

The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 24.99. 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 March 13, 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. American Homes 4 Rent (AMH): $16.37

Director B. Wayne Hughes acquired 1,000,000 shares of this single-family home rental REIT, paying $16.24 per share for a total amount of $16.24 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

The last time we mentioned a purchase of AMH by Mr. Hughes was on December 19, 2014 after he picked up a million shares of the company at an average price of $16.99. As we mentioned back then, Mr. Hughes is the billionaire founder of Public Storage (PSA) and retired as the CEO of PSA in 2012. He founded the former manager of American Homes 4 Rent in 2011.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for American Homes 4 Rent here.

2. American Assets Trust, Inc. (AAT): $41.94

Executive Chairman Ernest S. Rady acquired 200,000 shares of this diversified REIT, paying $40.54 per share for a total amount of $8.11 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Explorer Insurance Company which is directly controlled by the Reporting Person.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for American Assets Trust, Inc. here.

3. Continental Resources, Inc. (CLR): $41.3

CEO & Chairman Harold Hamm acquired 139,621 shares of this independent oil & gas company, paying $42.97 per share for a total amount of $5.99 million. Mr. Hamm increased his stake by 0.06% to 253,273,086 shares with this purchase.

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

4. Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI): $39.92

Chairman and CEO Richard D. Kinder acquired 100,000 shares of this oil & gas pipelines company, paying $39.50 per share for a total amount of $3.95 million. Mr. Kinder increased his stake by 0.04% to 233,812,353 shares with this purchase.

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

5. Fox Factory Holding Corp (FOXF): $15.4

Director Elias Sabo acquired 100,000 shares of this manufacturer of suspension systems for recreational vehicles, paying $14.87 per share for a total amount of $1.49 million. Mr. Sabo increased his stake by 84.92% to 217,758 shares with this purchase.

With an uninspiring name, this manufacturer of shock absorbers for mountain bikes and ATVs has had an equally uninspiring journey since going public at $15/share in August 2013. Following a 17.4% jump to $18.61 on its first trading day, the stock has trended steadily lower, significantly underperforming the S&P 500.

However as a business, the company appears to be doing quite well, generating double digit top line and bottom line growth in each of the last two years. Trading at less than 14 times 2015 earnings with 13% operating margins for a manufacturing company, Fox Factory Holdings is worth exploring further.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Fox Factory Holding Corp here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Stryker Corporation (SYK): $91.29

Shares of this medical devices company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 400,000 shares for $90.59, generating $36.24 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• Director Howard E. Cox Jr. sold 11,225 shares for $92.82, generating $1.04 million from the sale.

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

2. Cigna Corp. (CI): $122.89

Shares of this health services organization were sold by 5 insiders:

• President & CEO David Cordani sold 101,856 shares for $121.02, generating $12.33 million from the sale.
• President, International Markets Jason D. Sadler sold 22,376 shares for $120.35, generating $2.69 million from the sale. 20,033 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• President US Comm Markets & Global HC Op Matthew G. Manders sold 15,263 shares for $120.95, generating $1.85 million from the sale.
• EVP, General Counsel Nicole S. Jones sold 10,935 shares for $121.31, generating $1,326,506 from the sale.
• VP & Chief Accounting Officer Mary T. Hoeltzel sold 700 shares for $120.08, generating $84,056 from the sale.

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

3. The Walt Disney Company (DIS): $106.44

Shares of Disney were sold by 2 insiders:

• Sr. Executive VP and CFO James A. Rasulo sold 115,000 shares for $106.72, generating $12.27 million from the sale.
• SVP, Planning and Control Brent Woodford sold 2,500 shares for $106.10, generating $265,257 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 The Walt Disney Company here.

4. Liberty Tax, Inc. (TAX): $29.13

Director Steven Ibbotson sold 317,000 shares of this tax preparation services provider for $29.25, generating $9.27 million from the sale. These shares were sold indireclty by Datatax Business Services Limited.

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

5. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (BIO): $134.9

Shares of this medical laboratories and research company were sold by 4 insiders:

• Director Alice N. Shwartz sold 60,000 shares for $134.06, generating $8.04 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• EVP and CFO Christine A. Tsingos sold 5,400 shares for $135.94, generating $734,076 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• EVP, Global Commercial Operations Michael Crowley sold 200 shares for $134.05, generating $26,810 from the sale.
• EVP, General Counsel, Secretary Marie Shawn Soderberg sold 107 shares for $134.07, generating $14,345 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. here.

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

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