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CEO of Strong Performing Casual-Dining Chain Offloads Shares

The man in charge of Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) offloaded a great deal of shares this past week. CEO and Chairman W. Kent Taylor discarded 100,000 shares on Thursday at prices varying from $44.52 to $44.58 per share, cutting his direct ownership stake to 4.13 million shares. Mr. Taylor also holds an indirect ownership stake of 1.10 million shares, which are held via Taylor Family Partners Ltd.

The shares of the casual-dining chain have gained 29% since the start of the year, which does somewhat explain the CEO’s sale. After all, the entire restaurant industry has been struggling as of late partially due to the U.S. presidential campaign, whereas steakhouse chain Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) has managed to please investors with solid growth rates in recent quarters. The company’s total revenue for the three months that ended September 27 rose by 10% year-over-year to $481.64 million, while its comparable restaurant sales growth amounted to 3.4% for the quarter. Nonetheless, the 3.4%-figure represents a small step backward as compared to the performance enjoyed in the previous quarters. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors LLC added a 1.11 million-share stake in Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) to its equity portfolio during the third quarter.

One Executive at Packaging Company Unloads Shares

One member of WestRock Co (NYSE:WRK)’s executive team also discarded shares last week. James B. Porter III, President of Business Development and Latin America at WestRock, liquidated 39,240 shares last Wednesday and 70,760 shares on Thursday at prices varying from $47.70 to $48.51 per share, all of which were held in a trust fund that currently owns an aggregate of 41,223 shares. Mr. Porter also holds a direct ownership stake of 66,258 shares.

The provider of packaging solutions has seen its market capitalization jump by 8% since the beginning of the year. The aforementioned insider selling comes shortly after WestRock Co (NYSE:WRK) released its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year that ended September 30. During the September quarter, the company achieved $89 million in year-over-year productivity improvements, which yield an annual run rate of $500 million of synergy and performance improvements. The company recorded net sales of $3.61 billion for the previous quarter, down from $3.62 billion posted in the same period of the previous year. Jeffrey Smith’s Starboard Value LP owns exactly 3.00 million shares of WestRock Co (NYSE:WRK) as of the end of the third quarter.

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