Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Carl Icahn, Tom Steyer, Bill Ackman, Simpson Manufacturing Co, Inc. (SSD), Spark Therapeutics Inc (ONCE), and More

Carl Icahn Says He hasn’t Talked to Trump Since August (CNBC)
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said Tuesday that he hasn’t spoken with President Donald Trump for several months. In a letter to The Washington Post, Icahn wrote he was concerned about the outlet’s characterization of his relationship with the president in a recent article. “The article seemed to imply that I’ve been speaking regularly with the president,” he explained. “I’d like to set the record straight: Neither I nor anyone in my office has spoken with the president or any high-level member of the Trump administration, including Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, regarding government business since August.”

Call Him Mr. Impeachment: Tom Steyer’s War Against Donald Trump (Bloomberg)
A lot of Democrats think the billionaire investor is the wrong man with the wrong idea. Ask him if he cares. Narcissism was in the air in Washington. On a February night a few hundred yards from the White House, Tom Steyer, the hedge fund billionaire and political activist, had taken over three rooms at the National Press Club for a panel called Presidential Mental Health & Nuclear Weapons. On the dais, two psychiatrists, a psychologist, a Jungian author, and a warhead-security specialist were settling into blue chairs in front of a blue curtain. They were there to discuss the matter of Donald Trump’s ego.

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Finance Chiefs Kravis, Ackman and Gray Have Advice for New Philanthropists (Bloomberg)
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman helped Teach For America get off the ground when it was founded in 1989, a year after he graduated from Harvard. The organization’s success is one reason Ackman supports startup nonprofits and social enterprises. The 51-year-old chief executive officer of Pershing Square Capital Management LP says his best philanthropic investment is One Acre Fund, which assists East African farmers.

PIMCO’s Future Bond King Won’t Be Able To Humiliate Subordinates, Embarrass Company, Quit In Middle Of Night (DealBreaker)
A corollary to the truism that everyone’s a quant now is that everyone’s building robots now. We’ve come a long way from Cliff Asness’ staff cobbling together an algorithmic scratch for the itch of his Warren Buffett fetish, and it’s not just the Ray Dalios of the world anymore putting their brains into silicon immortality. Jeff Bezos, Jamie Dimon, former female bodybuilders-cum-hedge fund managers, even freakin’ Deutsche Bank. Manny Roman’s no stranger to the allure of the algorithmic; after all, he sold his old hedge fund, GLG Partners, to one of the ur-quants, the Man Group. And he’s spent the last two years refashioning Bill Gross’ old house into his own.

Hedge Fund Dalton Moves to Proxy Fight With Japan’s Shinsei Bank (Bloomberg)
A year after Dalton Investments urged Shinsei Bank Ltd. to buy back shares and link management’s pay more to the stock price, the U.S. hedge fund is taking its pressure on the Japanese lender to the next level: a proxy fight. Dalton, run by Jamie Rosenwald, is proposing that Shinsei pays executive directors in restricted stock, so that they have more incentive to improve performance and deliver returns to shareholders, according to a copy of a shareholder proposal provided by Dalton to Bloomberg. Shinsei shareholders will vote on this recommendation at the annual general meeting scheduled for June 20.

Insider Selling: Simpson Manufacturing (SSD) Major Shareholder Sells 46,084 Shares of Stock (LedgerGazette.com)
Simpson Manufacturing Co, Inc. (NYSE:SSD) major shareholder Sharon H. Simpson sold 46,084 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.64, for a total transaction of $2,656,281.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Insider Selling: TransDigm Group (TDG) Director Sells 11,900 Shares of Stock (MaconDaily.com)
TransDigm Group (NYSE:TDG) Director Raymond F. Laubenthal sold 11,900 shares of TransDigm Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.24, for a total value of $3,787,056.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,991,642.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC.

Insider Buying: Cardtronics, Inc. (CATM) Major Shareholder Buys 63,100 Shares of Stock (StockNewsTimes.com)
Cardtronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATM) major shareholder Hudson Executive Capital Lp purchased 63,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.47 per share, with a total value of $1,417,857.00. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC.

Insider Selling: Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) COO Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock (WeekHerald.com)
Spark Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ONCE) COO John Furey sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.51, for a total transaction of $1,550,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,550,200. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC.

Insider Selling: Bloomin’ Brands (BLMN) EVP Sells 45,846 Shares of Stock (LedgerGazette.com)
Bloomin’ Brands Inc (NASDAQ:BLMN) EVP Gregg Scarlett sold 45,846 shares of Bloomin’ Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.23, for a total transaction of $1,110,848.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,128,996.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC.

Insider Buying: Red Violet (RDVT) Director Purchases 8,800 Shares of Stock (TheLincolnianOnline.com)
Red Violet Inc (NASDAQ:RDVT) Director Michael Brauser bought 8,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.85 per share, with a total value of $60,280.00. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC.