More Insider Trading at WWE, Plus 4 Other Stocks With Notable Insider Trading Activity

After remaining relatively close for much of the year, the ratio of insider selling to insider buying has spiked in August. There were 339 insider sales transactions registered on August 17, the second-highest single-day total of the year, while single-day insider purchase volume hasn’t topped 100 since early-July. That lead into Wall Street’s worst week since June, as the Dow fell by 0.83% last week, while the S&P 500 declined by 0.66% and the Nasdaq shed 0.36% of its value.

With the potential for a near-term interest rate hike looking more likely, it could be another moribund week for stocks, as investors take profits and prepare their portfolios for what’s to come. Insider selling will likely continue to be high as well, if the close to last week is any indication. In this article we’ll take a look at the most noteworthy insider transactions registered at five companies on Friday, all of which were sales. Those companies are Alon USA Energy, Inc. (NYSE:ALJ), Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG), World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE), NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP), and Evercore Partners Inc. (NYSE:EVR).

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World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE), NYSE:WWE,

Former CEO of Alon USA Energy, Inc. (NYSE:ALJ) Sells 105,000 Shares

Let’s start with Alon USA Energy, Inc. (NYSE:ALJ), whose Executive Director David Wiessman sold some shares during the second-half of last week. Mr. Wiessman, who was the company’s President and CEO from 2000 to 2005, sold three blocks of 35,000 shares each from August 24 to August 26, at prices of between $7.23 and $7.42 per share. Following the sales, Mr. Wiessman has direct ownership of 2.51 million shares.

Alon USA Energy posted mixed financial results towards the end of July, beating revenue expectations soundly, but missing bottom-line estimates by $0.02 per share. Shares have been strong since then, gaining nearly 15% despite faltering on August 9 when two of the company’s other insiders reported sales. Shares of the refiner have lost 59% of their value over the last year. 15 funds in our database were Alon USA Energy shareholders on June 30.

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Two Executives Unload Shares of Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG)

Two executives sold small batches of Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) shares last week, beginning with Chief Legal Officer and Secretary Deborah Majoras, who sold 6,069 shares on Friday at an average price of $88.33 per share. Ms. Majoras now owns 37,363 shares directly and 1,245 shares indirectly through Retirement Plan Trustees. Also on Friday, Group President of P&G’s Global Beauty and Hair Care division, Patrice Louvet, sold 3,230 shares for an average price of $87.60 per share, dropping his direct ownership stake to 52,838 shares. Mr. Louvet also holds an indirect stake through Retirement Plan Trustees, consisting of 4,744 shares.

The top new pick of AQR Capital Management, P&G has been slowly but steadily rising throughout the past three months as it continues to test and push the boundaries of its 52-week highs. With online razor brand Harry’s being launched nationwide in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) locations last week, there is some concern that discount shavers could steal some of P&G’s facial hair-slicing thunder. Jefferies recently reiterated its ‘Buy’ rating and $98 price target on Procter & Gamble however, stating that increased competition in the sector has already been baked into their target price, which is $10.42 higher than the stock’s current price.

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We’ll continue our discussion of recent insider trading activity with a look at the trades executed by three other companies’ executives last week.

More Insider Activity at World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE)

The flurry of recent insider trading activity at World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE) continued at the end of last week, as WWE Studios’ President Michael Luisi sold 7,875 shares between Thursday and Friday at an average price of $21.39 per share. Mr. Luisi now owns a direct ownership stake of 56,500 shares.

The latest insider sale follows multiple sales transactions over the past two weeks, involving CEO Vince McMahon and his wife Linda, as well as Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer, Michelle D. Wilson. WWE shares have enjoyed a steady upward run since mid-April, gaining over 33%. WWE has projected an average of 1.49 million subscribers for the third quarter, which would represent a 27% year-over-year increase. David Forster and Peter Wilton‘s IBIS Capital Partners boosted its stake in WWE by 168% to 599,477 shares during the second quarter.

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NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) CEO Unloads Half His Stake

Next up is NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP), where CEO George Kurian sold 48,176 shares on Friday, after a Non-Qualified Stock Option vested on the same day, granting him 32,500 shares. The Chief Executive now holds a stake of 44,570 shares directly.

Shares of NetApp have gained over 42% since the beginning of July, which included a big spike on August 18 after it released its first quarter of fiscal year 2017 results. Earnings per share of $0.46 easily topped the estimates of $0.36, while revenue of $1.29 billion was $30 million ahead of estimates. The company’s revenue guidance for its fiscal second quarter also came in $70 million ahead of estimates at the mid-point of its guidance range. John Brennan’s Sirios Capital Management owns 2.49 million shares of NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) as of the end of June.

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Evercore Partners Inc. (NYSE:EVR) CEO Continues to Sell Shares for Loan Purposes

The CEO of Evercore Partners Inc. (NYSE:EVR) was busy selling more shares at the end of last week, after unloading 70,000 shares between August 19 and August 23. Ralph L. Schlosstein, the company’s CEO and President, sold another 125,212 shares between August 24 and August 26, lowering his direct ownership position in the company to 284,928 shares. As each of the last two filings have reported, the shares that Mr. Schlosstein sold were previously pledged for the purposes of securing a loan, and have been sold to pay down that loan. 71,849 shares of Mr. Schlosstein’s remaining direct ownership stake cover the remaining balance of the loan. The CEO also has beneficial ownership of 1.39 million partnership units in Evercore LP, 463,822 of which are held in a trust for the benefit of his family.

While being down by 4.5% this year, shares of Evercore have rebounded strongly from their sharp post-Brexit decline. The investment advisory firm has enjoyed strong activity across many sectors this year, including healthcare, while its underwriting activity also rebounded strongly in the second quarter. 19 funds in our system held shares of Evercore Partners Inc. (NYSE:EVR) at the end of June, down from 21 three months earlier.

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Disclosure: None