CEO of Data Center REIT Purchases Shares After Massive Dividend Increase, High-Ranked Executive at U.S. Industrial Conglomerate Sells Shares After Acquisition Announcement, Plus Other Insider Trading

COO of U.S. Industrial Conglomerate Sells Shares After Acquisition Announcement

A number of insiders at Parker-Hannifin Corp (NYSE:PH) sold shares in the past several days, most of whom offloaded freshly-vested stock appreciation rights. Nonetheless, there was a major insider sale at the company that didn’t involve stock appreciation rights or stock options. President and Chief Operating Officer Lee C. Banks liquidated 20,900 shares on Friday at prices varying from $142.22 to $142.68 per share. Mr. Banks currently owns a direct ownership stake of 52,357 shares following the recent sale.

The worldwide diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems serving a variety of mobile, industrial and aerospace markets has seen the value of its shares rise by 46% since the start of the year. The insider selling discussed above comes shortly after the U.S. industrial conglomerate agreed to buy CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE:CLC) for about $4.3 billion in an attempt to penetrate the profitable market for replacement filters for trucks and construction equipment, and other products. Shares of industrial companies such as Parker-Hannifin Corp (NYSE:PH) have surged after Donald Trump claimed victory in the presidential election on expectations of higher infrastructure spending and lower corporate taxes. Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena investment Management reported ownership of 3.51 million shares of Parker-Hannifin Corp (NYSE:PH) through the latest round of 13Fs.

Board Member of the Corner Store Operator Sell Shares Ahead of Takeover Completion

One member of CST Brands Inc. (NYSE:CST)’s boardroom has been offloading a great deal of shares over the past several days. Joseph V. Topper Jr., who has served as a member of the Board since October 2014, sold 33,000 shares on Monday and 14,421 shares on Friday at prices ranging from $48.10 to $48.14 per share. Mr. Topper also sold 25,000 shares on Thursday and 11,240 shares on Wednesday at prices that fell in the same range. Following this series of sales, the Board member currently owns an aggregate of 1.05 million shares.

In late August, the independent retailer of motor fuels and convenience merchandise agreed to be acquired by Quebec-based convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard for $4.4 billion. Therefore, the recent insider selling at the Corner Store operator does not seem surprising at all. Under the terms of the agreement reached this summer, CST Brands Inc. (NYSE:CST) shareholders are set to receive $48.53 per share in cash for each share owned, which yields the aforementioned figure of $4.4 billion including the assumption of net debt. Paul Tudor Jones’ Tudor Investment Corp owned approximately 750,000 shares of CST Brands Inc. (NYSE:CST) at the end of September.

Disclosure: None