Are Insiders Losing Faith In Campbell Soup Company (CPB), Avnet Inc. (AVT), And Sterling Bancorp (STL)?

Moving on, electronics distributor Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT) saw its Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources and Corporate Communications Officer, Maryann G. Miller, dispose of 9,562 shares in multiple transactions on September 9 at a weighted average price of $42.45, reducing her total stake in the company to 37,373 shares. Even though they have dipped by 7.3% during the second quarter, shares of Avnet have been fairly range-bound this year, moving in the range of $40-$46 and are trading nearly flat for the year. The company recently hiked its quarterly dividend to $0.17 from $0.16, offering a current yield of 1.60%. Analysts are generally bullish on the company, with five out of seven analysts who cover the stock having a ‘Buy’ rating on it. Clifton S. Robbins‘ Blue Harbour Group initiated a stake in the company by purchasing around 2.85 million shares during the April-June period and at the end of June was the second-largest shareholder of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT) among the funds we track.

Finally, let’s dissect the insider selling in holding company, Sterling Bancorp (NYSE:STL). On September 9, Craig S Thompson, an Independent Director of the company sold 2,006 shares and 994 shares in separate transactions, at prices of $14.27 and $14.26 per share, respectively. Accounting for these two transactions, Mr. Thompson now owns 282,067 shares of Sterling Bancorp (NYSE:STL) directly and 85,607 shares indirectly. Similar to Avnet, shares of Sterling Bancorp have also remained range-bound in 2015, moving in between $13 and $15. However, the greater than 10% rise they enjoyed from May until the end of June has ensured that even in the wake of the recent volatility in the markets, they are still trading flat for the year. Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated their ‘Hold’ rating on the stock on July 31, but increased their price target to $17 from $15.50, which represents a potential upside of 18.8%. Billionaire Israel Englander‘s Millennium Management was one of the hedge funds that brought its holding in the company down significantly during the April-June period, reducing its stake by 54% to 925,127 shares.

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