Insider Weekends: Thomas Karam Purchases $5M Of Equitrans Midstream Stock - Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE), Best Buy Co (NYSE:BBY)

Insider buying declined again last week with insiders purchasing $53.36 million of stock compared to $80.53 million in the week prior. Selling also decreased with insiders selling $1.58 billion of stock last week compared to $2.37 billion in the week prior.

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 edged up slightly to 29.56. In other words, insiders sold almost 30 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 29.38.

Notable Insider Buys

Revlon Inc REV
Director Ronald O. Perelman acquired 355,000 shares of this beauty care products company, paying $19.90 per share for a total amount of $7.07 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by by MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated.

Revlon’s stock dropped sharply earlier this month after the company reported disappointing fourth quarter results where revenue declined 5.7 percent. What spooked investors even more was the company’s decision to delay the filing of its annual report after disclosing that “it identified a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting as of year-end 2018.” The stock started the month at $26.52 and dropped to $18.02 by March 19. Perelman’s purchases took place on March 20-21 and the stock rebounded nearly 20 percent through the end of last week even in a weak market.

With these latest purchases, Perelman increased his stake in Revlon to over 86 percent of the company.

Equitrans Midstream Corp ETRN

President and CEO Thomas F. Karam acquired 250,000 shares of the natural gas pipeline company, paying $20.47 per share for a total amount of $5.12 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by E.T. Associates, L.P.

Equitrans Midstream was spun out of EQT Corporation EQT “to separate its separately managed gathering, transmission and storage, and water services operations (Midstream Business) from its natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids development, production and sales and commercial operations (Upstream Business).”

The spinoff was affected late last year and EQT maintained a nearly 20 percent interest in Equitrans after issuing 0.8 shares of Equitrans for each share of EQT held. If you subscribe to Joel Greenblatt’s philosophy of paying attention to spinoffs and following the actions of the insiders of the new spinoff, then this purchase appears to be bullish. Karam started his career in investment banking and later served as the CEO of three companies in the oil and natural gas industry that were eventually acquired.

Select Medical Holdings Corporation SEM

Vice Chairman and Co-Founder Rocco A. Ortenzio acquired 306,189 shares of this medical care company, paying $14.18 per share for a total amount of $4.34 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

RCM Technologies Inc RCMT
Executive Chairman & President Bradley Vizi acquired 637,000 shares of the engineering and construction company, paying $3.92 per share for a total amount of $2.49 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by various trusts and entities.

Cadence Bancorp CADE

Shares of this regional bank were acquired by eight insiders:

Chairman & CEO Paul B. Murphy acquired 50,000 shares, paying $19.93 per share for a total amount of $996,438. Murphy increased his stake by 11.19 percent to 497,008 shares with this purchase.
President & COO Samuel M. Tortorici acquired 50,000 shares, paying $19.90 per share for a total amount of $995,000. Tortorici increased his stake by 63.06 percent to 129,286 shares with this purchase.
EVP & Chief Financial Officer Valerie Toalson acquired 4,984 shares, paying $20.06 per share for a total amount of $99,979. Toalson increased his stake by 8.55 percent to 63,258 shares with this purchase.
Director William B. Harrison acquired 3,188 shares, paying $20.00 per share for a total amount of $63,746. Harrison increased his stake by 3.51 percent to 94,107 shares with this purchase.
Director Richard J. Fredericks acquired 3,001 shares, paying $20.00 per share for a total amount of $60,007. Fredericks increased his stake by 20.01 percent to 18,001 shares with this purchase.
Director Scott M. Stuart acquired 1,563 shares, paying $20.00 per share for a total amount of $31,253. Stuart increased his stake to 1,563 shares with this purchase.
Director Virginia A. Hepner acquired 781 shares, paying $20.00 per share for a total amount of $15,617. Hepner increased his stake by 8.49 percent to 9,984 shares with this purchase.
Director Precious W. Owodunni acquired 60 shares, paying $19.97 per share for a total amount of $1,198.

Notable Insider Sales

Walmart Inc WMT
Shares of Walmart were sold by two insiders:

Director Robson S. Walton sold 1,649,023 shares for $98.88, generating $163.06 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by a trust.
Executive Vice President Gregory S. Foran sold 74,019 shares for $100.00, generating $7.4 million from the sale.

Ulta Beauty Inc ULTA

Shares of this beauty products retailer were sold by nine insiders:

Director Charles Heilbronn sold 242,432 shares for $334.99, generating $81.21 million from the sale.
Chief Executive Officer Mary N. Dillon sold 120,949 shares for $334.42, generating $40.45 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
Chief Financial Officer Scott M. Settersten sold 29,529 shares for $338.64, generating $9.99 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
Director Dennis K. Eck sold 15,000 shares for $336.06, generating $5.04 million from the sale.
Chief Human Resources Officer Jeffrey J. Childs sold 9,757 shares for $333.89, generating $3.26 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
Director Lorna Nagler sold 4,500 shares for $337.62, generating $1.52 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
Director Robert F. Diromualdo sold 3,098 shares for $337.12, generating $1.04 million from the sale.
GC and Corporate Secretary Jodi J. Caro sold 2,511 shares for $334.52, generating $839,985 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 704 shares for $342.97, generating $241,451 from the sale.

Workday Inc WDAY

Shares of this software application company were sold by four insiders:

Director David A. Duffield sold 175,000 shares for $186.18, generating $32.58 million from the sale.
Co-President & CFO Robynne Sisco sold 40,000 shares for $195.29, generating $7.81 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
Co-President Gomez Luciano Fernandez sold 7,344 shares for $186.45, generating $1.27 million from the sale.
Chief Products Officer Petros Dermetzis sold 2,257 shares for $186.36, generating $420,606 from the sale.

Best Buy Co Inc BBY

Shares of Best Buy were sold by six insiders:

Chairman & CEO Hubert Joly sold 139,133 shares for $68.53, generating $9.53 million from the sale.
Chief Merch & Mktg Officer Rajendra M. Mohan sold 44,619 shares for $68.53, generating $3.06 million from the sale.
CFO Corie S. Barry sold 27,788 shares for $68.55, generating $1.9 million from the sale.
General Counsel & Secreta Keith J. Nelsen sold 24,374 shares for $68.55, generating $1.67 million from the sale.
CHRO & President, U.S. Retail Kathleen Scarlett sold 4,703 shares for $68.58, generating $322,539 from the sale.
SVP, Finance-Shared SVCS & CAO Mathew Watson sold 1,990 shares for $68.58, generating $136,484 from the sale.

O’Reilly Automotive Inc ORLY

Shares of this auto parts retailer were sold by two insiders:

Chairman of the Board David E. O’Reilly sold 34,000 shares for $375.48, generating $12.77 million from the sale. 25,500 of these shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

Director Lawrence P. O’Reilly sold 5,600 shares for $375.48, generating $2.1 million from the sale.

Disclaimer: The author holds a long position in Workday. It is up to the reader to perform their own due diligence before buying or selling any securities mentioned in this article. The author and Benzinga do not warrant the completeness or accuracy of the content or data provided in this article.

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