Insider Selling at UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), Plus Insider Buying at 4 Other Companies

Board Member of Struggling Apparel Maker Purchases Shares

A member of Genesco Inc. (NYSE:GCO)’s Board bought a relatively sizable block of shares this past week. David M. Tehle, member of the company’s Board of Directors since early February of 2016, acquired 4,100 shares on Friday at a price tag of $48.66 each. After the recent transaction, Mr. Tehle currently owns 6,006 shares.

Genesco Inc. (NYSE:GCO), whose business operations involve the sourcing, design, marketing, and distribution of footwear and accessories, has seen its market value plummet by 30% in the past month. The massive drop in market value was attributable to worse-than-anticipated fiscal second-quarter results, which reflected rapidly-shifting fashion footwear trends. As a result, the Nashville-based shoe and cap retailer cut its full-year earnings forecast to a range of $3.80-to-$4.00 per share, down from the previous guidance of $4.80-to-$4.90 per share. The company’s net sales for the second quarter ended July 30 decreased by 4.6% year-over-year to $626 million, reflecting the divestiture of the Lids Team Sports business. Royce & Associates, founded by Chuck Royce, was the owner of 848,439 shares of Genesco Inc. (NYSE:GCO) at the end of the second quarter.

Non-Executive Chairman at Large Health Insurance Firm Sells Shares

A highly-informed insider at UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) offloaded some shares last week. Non-Executive Chairman Richard T. Burke liquidated two blocks of 20,000 shares each on Wednesday, at prices that fell between $134.80 and $135.80 per share, trimming his direct ownership holding to 1.98 million shares. Mr. Burke also holds an indirect ownership stake of 86,000 shares, which are held in an irrevocable trust for the benefit of his children.

The shares of the diversified health and well-being company are up by 14% thus far in 2016 and have gained an impressive 183% over the past five years, so there is no surprise that certain long-serving employees are unloading some shares. It is argued that one of the primary reasons that health insurance firms such as UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) have been abandoning the public insurance exchanges of the Affordable Care Act is that a limited number of young, healthy individuals are signing up on these exchanges. Adage Capital Management, founded by Phillip Gross and Robert Atchinson, owns around 1.60 million shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) as of June 30.

Disclosure: None