What Has Insiders Cash Out at These Three Strong-Performing Companies? Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) Among Them

Let’s now turn our full attention to an insider sale registered at video game giant Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI). Chief Customer Officer Brian Hodous reported selling 15,996 shares on Thursday at a weighted average sale price of $37.50, truncating his ownership to 122,630 shares. It is also worth pointing out that 48,508 of these shares represent restricted stock units with vesting criteria tied to performance. The shares of Activision Blizzard have been riding a steady uptrend since the beginning of the year, advancing nearly 69% year-to-date. If looking at some broad and simple valuation metrics, one can conclude that the stock is fairly valued at the moment and there is not much upside in the upcoming future. For instance, the stock is currently trading at a trailing P/E ratio of 23.16, which compares to a ratio of 23.41 for the S&P 500. This Friday, the world’s fifth-largest video game maker announced the launch of its film and television studio to show its globally-recognized titles on screens. The stock received some attention from the hedge funds monitored by our team during the second quarter, as the number of top money managers invested in the company increased to 46 from 41 quarter-over-quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group was among the top equity holders of Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) with 5.02 million shares as of the end of June.

Last but not least, Ralph Lauren Corp (NYSE:RL) saw two of its top executives offload their holdings last week. President and Chief Operating Officer Jackwyn Nemerov sold out her entire 44,773-share stake on Friday at prices in the range of $132.64-to-$136.69. Furthermore, Christopher H. Peterson, President of Global Brands at Ralph Lauren, sold 3,016 shares on the same day at a weighted average price of $136.38, cutting his stake to 1,508 shares. The shares of the upscale clothing company surged on the announcement of its fiscal second-quarter earnings report, which was released on November 5. Even so, the stock is still 27% in the red year-to-date, while its trailing and forward P/E ratios seem to suggest that Ralph Lauren’s stock is quite fairly valued at the moment. Specifically, the shares are trading at a trailing P/E ratio of 20.93 and a forward P/E of 17.47, which points to the fact that the upside is quite limited. Meanwhile, Ralph Lauren lost some of its charm within the hedge fund industry, as the number of hedge funds with positions in the company dropped to 28 from 35 during the second quarter. Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management owned roughly 847,000 shares in Ralph Lauren Corp (NYSE:RL) at the end of the June quarter.

Disclosure: None