CEO’s of Popular Pizza-Delivery Chain and Hotel REIT Offload Shares, Plus Insider Buying at 3 Companies

President and CEO of Hotel REIT Offloads Shares

The man in charge of LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE:LHO) sold off half his stake in the company this past week. President and Chief Executive Officer Michael D. Barnello discarded 125,000 shares on Thursday at prices that fell between $28.40 and $28.49 per share, and 25,000 shares on Friday at $28.71 apiece. Following the recent transactions, Mr. Barnello currently owns 149,635 shares.

The real estate investment trust (REIT), which buys, owns and leases upscale and luxury full-service hotels, has seen its market value jump by 13% since the start of 2016. LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE:LHO) owns interests in 47 hotels with more than 12,000 guest rooms, located in ten states and the District of Columbia. The REIT’s hotel operating revenue, including room, food and beverage and other operating department revenue grew by $9.3 million year-over-year to $348.8 million in the second quarter, reflecting the moderately improving economic environment. The REIT received a great deal of attention from the hedge funds tracked by our team in the second quarter, as the number of funds invested in LaSalle Hotel Properties doubled to 14 quarter-over-quarter. George Hall’s Clinton Group reported owning 65,580 shares of LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE:LHO) through the latest round of 13F filings.

Founder of Well-Known Pizza Delivery Chain Sells Shares

The most informed and influential executive at Papa John’s Int’l Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) also unloaded a high quantity of shares last week. John H. Schnatter, the founder and current CEO of Papa John’s International, sold 44,714 shares on Thursday, 22,261 shares on Wednesday, 5,110 shares on Tuesday and 6,373 shares on Monday, at prices varying from $76.00 to $76.37 per share. After the aforementioned string of sales, Mr. Schnatter currently holds an ownership stake of 9.90 million shares.

The pizza delivery chain has seen the value of its shares spike by 34% since the beginning of the year. In late-July, analysts at KeyBanc upgraded Papa John’s Int’l Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) to ‘Overweight’, arguing that more consumers may be opting to eat at home amid increased civil and political disruptions. Specifically, KeyBanc analysts believe “the civil and political disruptions that have negatively impacted restaurant dining may be helping pizza operators that deliver to consumers.” At the end of June, there were 4,935 Papa John’s restaurants operating across the U.S. and 43 international countries and territories. Citadel Advisors had nearly 545,000 shares of Papa John’s Int’l Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) in its portfolio at the end of the June quarter.

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