Influential Insiders at Well-Known Freight Trucking Company and Ultratech Inc. (UTEK) Discard Shares, Plus Insider Buying at Other Companies

According to analysts from research firm FactSet Research Systems, the blended third-quarter earnings growth rate for the S&P 500 companies currently stands at 1.6%. The blended earnings results combine actual results for the companies that have reported earnings already and the estimated results for the companies yet to release their earnings reports. Surprisingly, the blended growth rate of 1.6% is much higher than the blended earnings figure of negative 0.5% observed a little more than a week ago and the year-over-year estimate decline of 2.2% expected at the end of the third quarter.

It appears that the so-called earnings recession will finally come to a halt this quarter. Should the third-quarter earnings growth be positive this quarter, it will be the first time the S&P 500 index has observed year-over-year growth in earnings since the first quarter of 2015. As the busiest earnings week of this quarter is behind us already, the insider trading activity has started to intensify over the past several trading sessions. Thus, the following article will discuss a set of noteworthy insider transactions reported with the SEC on Friday.

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Board Member at Large Copper Producer Buys Shares After Earnings Release

Let’s begin our discussion by looking into the insider buying activity at Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX). Courtney Mather, who was appointed to the company’s Board of Directors in early October of 2015 as part of an agreement between activist investor Carl Icahn and Freeport-McMoRan, snapped up 150,000 shares on Thursday at prices ranging from $10.68 to $10.78 per share. Following the recent set of purchases, Mr. Mather currently holds an ownership stake of 190,523 shares.

The world’s largest publicly-traded copper producer has seen the value of its shares advance by an impressive 62% since the start of the year. The aforementioned insider purchase comes shortly after Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) reported a third-quarter profit of $217 million, which broke a streak of seven consecutive quarterly losses for the company. This figure compares with a loss of $3.83 billion recorded for the same period of the prior year, with the year-earlier bottom-line figure reflecting impairments of $3.65 billion related to the company’s oil and gas properties. The biggest U.S. mining company by market value previously announced plans to cut its debt load and restore the health of its balance sheet through a combination of asset sales, cash flow from operations, and possible capital market transactions. Earlier this month, Freeport-McMoRan agreed to sell its onshore California oil and gas properties for $592 million in cash. Beech Hill Partners, led by current President and CEO Paul Cantor, reported owning 70,600 shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) through the current round of 13F filings.

The next two pages of this article will discuss the fresh insider trading observed at four other companies.

New Board Member of Expanding Bank Holding Company Initiates Stake

A newly-appointed member of First Midwest Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBI)’s Board initiated a stake this past week. Kathryn J. Hayley, appointed to the company’s Board of Directors in late-August, purchased a 16,000-share stake on Thursday at prices varying from $19.28 to $19.43 per share.

First Midwest Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBI) operates as the bank holding company of its principal operating subsidiary First Midwest Bank, a community bank that attracts deposits, makes loans and offers wealth management, investment, and retirement plan services. In late-June, the company agreed to acquire Standard Bancshares, the holding company for Standard Bank and Trust Company. The acquisition will offer First Midwest Bancorp 35 banking offices located mainly in the southwest Chicago suburbs and adjacent markets in northwest Indiana. Under the terms of the agreement, Standard Bancshares’ shareholders are set to receive 0.4350 shares of First Midwest for each share of Standard. The acquisition is anticipated to close in late 2016 or early 2017. The shares of First Midwest are 4% in the green in 2016. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies was the owner of 416,200 shares of First Midwest Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBI) at the end of the second quarter.

Board Member of Well-Known Discount Brokerage Buys More Shares

A new member of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:AMTD)’s Board of Directors increased his ownership stake last week. Brian Michael Levitt, who joined the company’s Board in early-October, snatched up 5,000 shares on Wednesday at prices that fell between the range of $33.85 and $33.94 per share. Following this acquisition, Mr. Levitt currently owns an aggregate of 6,509 shares.

The insider buying comes a few days after TM Ameritrade, one of the biggest discount brokerages in the United States, agreed to buy smaller rival Scottrade, famous within the investment community for charging only $7 per online trade. The purchase price of $2.7 billion comprises $1.7 billion in cash and $1 billion in new shares. As TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:AMTD)’s acquisition of Scottrade combines two of the nation’s big-five brokerages, the authorities in the United States are likely to allocate a great deal of attention on the acquisition. The $2.7 billion-deal will result in a combined business with approximately 10 million client accounts and $1 trillion in assets, which will execute around 600,000 trades per day. TD Ameritrade’s shares are down by 1% this year. Akre Capital Management, founded by Charles Akre, had 2.97 million shares of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:AMTD) in its portfolio at the end of June.

The final page of this article will discuss the fresh insider selling observed at two other companies.

CEO of Lights and Lasers Maker Discards Shares

The most influential executive at Ultratech Inc. (NASDAQ:UTEK) offloaded a large amount of shares last week. Chairman and CEO Arthur W. Zafiropoulo discarded 21,081 shares on Wednesday and 58,919 shares on Thursday at prices ranging from $21.76 to $22.27 per share. Following the recent sales, Mr. Zafiropoulo currently owns 817,468 shares of Ultratech.

Ultratech Inc. (NASDAQ:UTEK), which makes lights and lasers used in the manufacture of semiconductor and nanotechnology devices, faced a shareholder activist campaign earlier this year, as investment manager Neuberger Berman Group criticized the performance of the company. The investment manager waged an activist proxy fight at Ultratech and won two Board seats at the company’s annual meeting of stockholders in July.

In a letter sent to Ultratech shareholders earlier this year, Neuberger Berman Group said: “Given that the stock has remained at approximately $20 for 20 years, why should stockholders trust the same CEO and the same Board of Directors to find the right people and develop winning strategies to improve Ultratech’s performance? They’ve had more than two decades to figure it out and have failed.”

The shares of the maker of lights and lasers for the technology sector have gained 7% year-to-date. Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital held an ownership stake of 3.45 million shares of Ultratech Inc. (NASDAQ:UTEK) at the end of the June quarter.

Chairman of Well-Known Freight Trucking Company Sells Shares

A well-informed insider at J. B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) unloaded some shares last week. James K. Thompson, the Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors, liquidated 5,400 shares on Wednesday at $79.52 apiece. Mr. Thompson currently owns an aggregate of 60,346 shares following the recent sale.

J. B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT), one of the largest surface transportation, delivery, and logistics companies in North America, has seen its market capitalization rise by 11% this year. The well-known freight trucking company reported total operating revenue of $1.69 billion for the third quarter, up from $1.59 billion reported a year earlier. Even so, J. B. Hunt Transport Services reported a drop in third-quarter earnings, to $109.4 million from $115.1 million posted a year prior, as the company struggled with lower customer rates and sluggish demand. David Keidan’s Buckingham Capital Management added an 18,700-share position in J. B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) to its portfolio during the third quarter.

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