Over the past week we’ve seen several large insider buys as well as several coming from the companies’ CEOs. It is interesting to note when a CEO, or even a CFO, buys because these insiders supposedly have the most intimate knowledge of their company's workings.
The following three CEOs each come from various sectors of the market, but they each reported insider buys with transaction amounts valued at over $100,000 and one CEO reported an insider sell raking in over.
Office Depot (ODP)
Over the past week there were two insiders making large buys into Office Depot. The insiders made these buys, bringing in over 2.9 million shares. These buys come as the price per share has dropped from its 52-week high.
Chairman & CEO Roland Smith added 50,000 shares to his holdings. He bought these shares at $4.61 per share for a total transaction amount of $230,500. The shares are trading slightly lower now at $4.53 per share. Smith now holds on to 1,249,616 shares of the company’s stock.
Director and 10% owner Jeffrey Smith added 2,873,913 shares to his stake at $4.59 per share. This cost the director a total of $13,191,261. Since his buy the price per share has dropped slightly to $4.53 per share. Smith now holds on to 45,633,497 shares of the company’s stock.
Office Depot is a global supplier of office products and services under the Office Depot brand and other proprietary brand names.
Office Depot’s historical revenue and net income:
The analysis reports that the company has a low Piotroski F-Score, which usually implies poor business operation.
The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently overvalued:
Office Depot has a market cap of $2.43 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $4.56 with a P/E ratio of 78.60, a P/S ratio of 0.20 and a P/B ratio of 0.20.
MDC Partners (MDCA)
Over the past week there were five insiders making six separate buys into MDC Partners. These buys come as the company’s price has fallen from its historical high.
Chairman, CEO and President Miles Nadal made two buys over the past week adding a total of 30,000 shares to his holdings. He bought these shares in the price range of $21.06 to $22.00, spending a total of $636,500. Since then the price per share has dropped roughly -2.83%. Nadal now owns 9,192,383 shares of the company’s stock.
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary Mitchell Gendel added 1,000 shares to his stake on March 12. He bought these shares for $20.68 per share for a total transaction amount of $20,680. Since this buy the price per share has increased 1.11%. Gendel now holds on to 148,593 shares of the company’s stock.
Senior VP and Chief Accounting Officer Michael Sabatino purchased 10,000 shares on March 12 for an average price of $21.48 per share. This cost Sabatino a total of $214,800. Since his buy the price per share has dropped -2.65%. Sabatino now holds on to 210,214 shares of the company’s stock.
Lastly CFO David Doft added a total of 1,000 shares to his holdings. He bought these shares at $21.50 per share for a total transaction amount of $21,500. Since then the price per share is down -2.74%. Doft now holds on to at least 163,619 shares of the company’s stock.
As shown in the chart above these insider buys are the first insider transactions for the company since 2004.
MDC Partners is a provider of marketing, activation, communications and marketing effectiveness solutions and services to customers. The company's subsidiaries provide customized marketing, activation, communications and consulting services, including advertising and consumer communication services, media management and effectiveness across all channels.
MDC Partners’ historical revenue and net income:
The analysis on MDC Partners reports that the company has issued $162.611 million of debt in the past three years, its revenue has slowed down over the past year and that its dividend yield is at a 1-year high.
MDC Partners has a market cap of $1.06 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $21.17 with a P/S ratio of 0.90. The dividend yield of MDC Partners is at 3.00%.
Calamos Asset Management (CLMS)
Calamos Asset Management has a strong history of insider buying coming from the company’s CEO. John Calamos Sr. is the company’s Chairman, CEO & Global CIO, and is also the company’s largest individual investor. On March 14, Calamos added an additional 56,251 shares of the company’s stock at an average price of $12.66 per share. This cost the company’s head a total of $712,138, making it one of his largest buys of 2014 thus far.
Since his most recent buy, the price per share has dropped a slight -0.16%, and the CEO now holds on to a total of 2,920,815 shares of the company’s stock.
Insider buying for the company’s executives has become increasingly more common as the price per share has been hovering near its 52-week low as well as rebounding from this low.
Calamos Asset Management is a global asset management firm that offers strategies to fulfill a range of asset allocation goals through a multi-team platform. The company together with its subsidiaries provides investment advisory services to various individuals, corporations and partnerships.
Calamos Asset’s historical revenue and net income:
The analysis on Calamos reports that the company’s operating margin is expanding, its dividend payout ratio is too high and its Altman Z-Score indicates that the company is currently under some sort of financial stress.
The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently undervalued:
Calamos Asset Management has a market cap of $259.6 million. Its shares are currently trading at around $12.64 with a P/E ratio of 21.00, a P/S ratio of 0.90 and a P/B ratio of 1.10. The dividend yield of Calamos Asset Management stocks is 3.90%.
You can view a complete list of CEO buys and sells here.
