Hot Newly-Public Company and Battered Propane Distributor Witness Insider Buying; Plus Other Insider Transactions

Board Member of Liquidating REIT Keeps Selling Shares

One member of New York REIT Inc. (NYSE:NYRT)’s boardroom has been trimming his ownership stake quite significantly over the past several days. Board member William M. Kahane discarded 258,134 shares on Monday and 93,818 shares on Tuesday at prices that fell between $9.05 to $9.14 per share. The director also sold 42,951 shares last Thursday and 71,981 shares on Friday. After the recent transactions, Mr. Kahane currently holds an ownership stake of only 24,000 shares.

While the insider selling seems alarming at the first glance, Mr. Kahane’s decision to sell shares is likely related to the real estate investment trust’s plan of liquidation and dissolution. In early, August, New York REIT Inc. (NYSE:NYRT), which owns a portfolio of office and retail properties, announced the commencement of a liquidation process following strong criticism on the part of certain shareholders. The office and retail-property owner plans to sell its assets and distribute the net proceeds to the company’s stockholders, which involves paying down its debt load and return proceed to shareholders. Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital owned 1.32 million shares of New York REIT Inc. (NYSE:NYRT) at the end of June.

Board Member at Well-Known Off-Price Chain Discards Shares

A member of Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)’s Board of Directors also offloaded a sizeable block of shares this week. Director Gregory L. Quesnel sold 16,000 shares on Monday at prices that ranged from $64.30 to $64.53 per share. After the recent sale, Mr. Quesnel currently owns 19,370 shares.

The well-known off-price chain has seen the value of its shares advance by 19% this year. Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) operates two brands of off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores, Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS. The company’s sales for the three months that ended July 30 increased by $213 million or 7.2% year-over-year to $3.18 billion. The increase in the top line mainly reflects the opening of 77 new stores between early August of 2015 and late July of 2016, as well as a 4% increase in comparable store sales. Although the number of asset managers followed by Insider Monkey with equity stakes in Ross Stores dropped to 35 from 39 during the second quarter, the overall value of the existing stakes rose by 14% quarter-over-quarter to $823.96 million. Aaron Cowen’s Suvretta Capital Management added a 1.16 million-share block in Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) to its portfolio during the June quarter.

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