Non-Dividend Paying REIT and Leading Small-Cap Closed-End Fund Witness Mild Insider Buying, Plus Other Insider Transactions

President of Large Small-Cap Closed-End Fund Purchases Shares at Discount

One influential member of Royce Value Trust Inc. (NYSE:RVT)’s executive team piled up some shares this past week. President Christopher D. Clark snapped up a new stake of 2,000 shares at $12.66 apiece.

Royce Value Trust Inc. (NYSE:RVT) operates as a closed-end diversified management investment company that seeks to invest at least 65% of its assets in equity securities primarily of small-cap and micro-cap companies. Closed-end shares can deviate from their net asset value quite significantly one some occasions, because a closed-end fund’s share price is set by supply and demand forces. On August 31, the largest small-cap closed-end fund recorded net assets per share of $14.92, whereas the market share price of the fund stood at only $12.75. Hence, investors could have grabbed $14,920 of assets by paying a mere $12,750, a discount of around 14%. All in all, the recent purchase completed by Mr. Clark might be explained by the discount at which the small-cap closed-end fund’s shares can be purchased. Clough Capital Partners, founded by Charles Clough, was the owner of 42,376 shares of Royce Value Trust Inc. (NYSE:RVT) at the end of the second quarter.

Insider at Non-Dividend Paying REIT Purchases Shares

One corporate insider at BRT Realty Trust (NYSE:BRT) also snapped up some shares last week. Jeffrey G. Rubin, Independent Trustee of BRT Realty Trust since 2004, acquired 4,262 shares on Thursday at a price target of $7.80 each. After the recent acquisition, Mr. Rubin currently holds an ownership stake of 37,510 shares.

The real estate investment trust that owns and operates multi-family properties and other assets has seen its market capitalization jump by 26% this year. On June 30, BRT Realty Trust (NYSE:BRT) owned 31 multi-family properties that consisted of 8,973 units. In early September, the REIT acquired a multi-family property in the city of Southaven, Mississippi, for $38.2 million. At the same time, BRT Realty Trust sold a multi-family property for $30.4 million at a significant gain after owning the property for less than three years. BRT Realty Trust has not paid any cash dividends since 2010, as the REIT used its net operating loss carry-forward to offset its taxable income. Royce & Associates, founded by Chuck Royce, reported ownership of 448,275 shares of BRT Realty Trust (NYSE:BRT) in its 13F filing for the second quarter.

The final page of this article will discuss the insider selling activity observed at two other companies.