Insider Buys and Sells: Weekly Wrap-up
Monday, August 3, 2009 | Tycoon StaffRating:
For all the analysts and pundits in the financial media, there is still no better judge of a company's health and future prospects than the owners and executives of those companies themselves, along with major institutional shareholders.
That's why insider buying and selling is a critical piece of data that is monitored by people who invest for a living.
As part of our continuing efforts here at The Tycoon Report to level the playing field between individual investors and the fat cats on Wall Street, we're keeping you informed -- on a daily basis and at no cost whatsoever -- of the most significant insider buying and selling.
Below is a weekly re-cap of the past week's activity of important insider buys and sells. We aim to publish this re-cap every Monday, and it can be accessed in your e-mail issues or on the Tycoon Report Web site.
Very important note: While these re-caps are available on the Tycoon Report Web site, if you want the most timely information we provide on insider buying and selling, be sure to read the e-mail issues that we send each weekday morning.
That's why insider buying and selling is a critical piece of data that is monitored by people who invest for a living.
As part of our continuing efforts here at The Tycoon Report to level the playing field between individual investors and the fat cats on Wall Street, we're keeping you informed -- on a daily basis and at no cost whatsoever -- of the most significant insider buying and selling.
Below is a weekly re-cap of the past week's activity of important insider buys and sells. We aim to publish this re-cap every Monday, and it can be accessed in your e-mail issues or on the Tycoon Report Web site.
Very important note: While these re-caps are available on the Tycoon Report Web site, if you want the most timely information we provide on insider buying and selling, be sure to read the e-mail issues that we send each weekday morning.
BlackRock Inc. (BLK)
President Robert Kapito SOLD $1.6 million in shares. View details.
Boston Properties Inc. (BXP)
Chairman of the Board Mortimer B. Zuckerman SOLD $15.9 million in shares. View details.
CEO Edward H. Linde SOLD $15.8 million in shares. View details.
C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (CHRW)
CEO John Wiehoff SOLD $1.6 million in options. View details.
Healthcare Services Group Inc. (HCSG)
CEO Daniel P. McCartney SOLD $3.7 million in shares. View details.
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG)
CEO Lonnie M. Smith SOLD $3.2 million in options. View details.
JDA Software Group Inc. (JDAS)
Sr. VP of Retail Wayne Usie SOLD $1.5 million in options. View details.
Kimberly-Clark Corp. (KMB)
President, K-C Healthcare Joanne Bauer SOLD $2.4 million in options. View details.
NVR Inc. (NVR)
Controller Robert W. Henley SOLD $2.1 million in options. View details.
CFO Dennis M. Seremet SOLD $4.6 million in options. View details.
Director Dwight C. Schar SOLD $2.7 million in shares. View details.
Quest Diagnostics Inc. (DGX)
SVP & CFO Robert Hagemann SOLD $4.5 million in options and $1.7 million in shares. View details.
Chairman, President & CEO Surya Mohapatra SOLD $8.4 million in options. View details.
St. Jude Medical Inc. (STJ)
President, CRMD Eric S. Fain SOLD $2 million in options. View details.
Tupperware (TUP)
Group President Glenn R. Drake SOLD $2.3 million in options. View details.
EVP, Chief HR Officer Lillian D. Garcia SOLD $1.7 million in options. View details.
SVP, Supply Chain, Worldwide Jose R. Timmerman SOLD $1.3 million in options. View details.
V.F. Corp. (VFC)
CFO Robert K. Shearer SOLD $7.1 million in options. View details.
W.W. Grainger Inc (GWW)
Chairman Emeritus Richard L. Keyser SOLD $13.5 million in shares and $1.8 million in options. View details.
Economic Calendar for the Week of Aug. 3-7
MONDAY, AUG. 3
10 a.m. ISM: Institute for Supply Management
* Importance (A-F): This release merits an A-.
* Source: Institute for Supply Management
* Release Time: 10 a.m. Eastern on the first business day of the month for the prior month.
* Raw Data Available At: http://www.ism.ws
The ISM report is a national survey of purchasing managers that covers such indicators as new orders, production, employment, inventories, delivery times, prices, export orders, and import orders.
The ISM is one of the first comprehensive economic releases of the month, typically preceding the employment report. Though it covers only the manufacturing sector, it can often provide accurate hints regarding the tone of subsequent releases.
Highlights
* The ISM Index for June came in about as expected on the headline number, which was 44.8% versus the consensus estimate of 44.9%.
* The sore spot with this particular report was the dip in the new orders component to 49.2% from 51.1%, as that tipped the closely-watched gauge back to a contraction reading. This report, however, still had several bright spots (or perhaps we should say several less dark spots).
* Production picked up to 52.5% from 46.0%; supplier deliveries jumped to 50.6% from 49.8%; inventories fell to 30.8% from 32.9%; prices paid went to 50.0% from 43.5%; employment rose to 40.7% from 34.3%; new export orders improved to 49.5% from 48.0%; and imports increased to 46.0% from 42.5%.
Key Factors
* The June result marked the sixth-consecutive monthly improvement, although a number below 50% indicates the manufacturing sector is still generally contracting.
* The pullback in the key new orders component provided just enough room to question the pace of the recovery effort, yet the improvement in other areas was enough of an offset to stem any outright bearish interpretations of an otherwise in-line report.
Big Picture
* This is a highly overrated index. It is merely a survey of purchasing managers. It is a diffusion index, which means it reflects the number of people saying conditions are better compared to the number saying conditions are worse. It does not weight for size of the firm, or for the degree of better/worse. It can therefore underestimate conditions if there is a great deal of strength in a few firms. The data have thus not been either a good forecasting tool or a good read on current conditions during this business cycle. It must be recognized that the index is not hard data of any kind, but simply a survey that provides broad indications of trends.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 5
10 a.m. Non-Manufacturing ISM: Institute for Supply Management
* Importance (A-F): This release merits an improved B-.
* Source: Institute for Supply Management
* Release Time: 10 a.m. Eastern on the third business day of the month for the prior month.
* Raw Data Available At: http://www.napm.org
The non-manufacturing ISM report is a national survey of purchasing managers that covers new orders, employment, inventories, supplier delivery times, prices, backlog orders, export orders, and import orders.
The index should be far more indicative of the broader economy given its inclusion of service-producing as well as good-producing sectors outside of manufacturing. However, the short history of the index dates to only July 1997 and doesn't provide the insight of a longer period inclusive of varied economic climates. The seasonal adjustment of the index didn't begin until January 2001 with only 3 of the 9 components seasonally adjusted as of April 2001. The lack of historical data and lack of a tight correlation to the non-manufacturing economy leaves the relatively poor "B-" rating compared to the "A-" rating of the well-respected manufacturing ISM index.
Highlights
* The ISM Services Index for May registered a 47.0% reading that was above the consensus estimate of 46.0% and the prior month's reading of 44.0%.
* The component indexes of interest broke down as follows: prices paid to 53.7% (from 46.9%); new export orders 54.5% (from 47.0%); business activity 49.8% (from 42.4%); new orders 48.6% (from 44.4%); employment 43.4% (from 39.0%); backlog of orders 46.0% (from 40.0%); and imports 47.0% (from 46.0%).
* Inventories fell to 45.0% (from 47.0%), suggesting they contracted at a faster rate in June. The upside with the inventory drop is that implies production will need to pick up to replace depleted inventories.
* Supplier deliveries fell to 46.0% (from 50.0%), but this is technically an indication of weak activity considering that a declining number here means suppliers are able to deliver goods faster.
Key Factors
* A number below 50% is an indication activity in the non-manufacturing sector is contracting, although the higher level versus May suggests the rate of contraction has slowed.
FRIDAY, AUG. 7, 2009
8:30 a.m. The Employment Report
* Importance (A-F): This release merits an A.
* Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.
* Release Time: First Friday of the month at 8:30 a.m. Eastern for the prior month
* Raw Data Available At: http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.toc.htm
The employment report is actually two separate reports that are the results of two separate surveys. The household survey is a survey of roughly 60,000 households; it produces the unemployment rate. The establishment survey is a survey of 375,000 businesses; it produces the nonfarm payrolls, average workweek, and average hourly earnings figures, to name a few. Both surveys cover the payroll period that includes the 12th of each month.
Highlights
* Not good. Nonfarm payrolls fell 467,000 in June. This is worse than an expected 367,000 and still well-above the largest decline registered in the 2000-'01 recession of 325,000.
* Further bad news is included in the payroll report. Average weekly hours fell to 33.0 from 33.1. Hours tend to lead payrolls and the fact that employers are cutting back hours suggests that hiring is a long ways off.
* Also negative from an economic standpoint is that fact that hourly earnings in June were flat. This is below an expected meager 0.1% gain and indicates that consumer purchasing power is falling (when combined with lower payroll levels).
* The unemployment rate ticked up just 0.1% to 9.5%, but that was due to a fluctuation in the labor force that had helped boost the rate 0.5% the month before.
Key Factors
* The June report is quite bad across the board. It could undermine the belief that economic recovery is not too far off simply because a slew of recent data had shown a "slower rate of decline."
* The unemployment rate will be over 10% in a few months.
Big Picture
* There is no reason to expect an improvement in labor market conditions any time soon. Weekly claims for unemployment have to drop below 400,000 before payrolls will stabilize.
* Payrolls had declined a smaller amount each month since a 714,000 drop in January -- until June. The apparent trend of improvement has now been shattered. And the data present little hope of improvement in the near future.
* No raises and declining payroll levels is a recipe for very poor consumer confidence.
Source: Briefing.com
