Voluminous Insider Selling at Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Flowserve Corp (FLS), Plus Insider Buying at WBA and Others

One Executive at iPhone Maker Discards Shares

Although Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has witnessed high volumes of insider selling in recent months, most of the insider selling was associated with freshly-exercised stock options or was conducted under pre-arranged trading plans. As Insider Monkey strives to cover only spontaneous and information-rich insider transactions, the insider selling at the iPhone maker has not been discussed for months. Nonetheless, a member of the company’s executive team discarded a rather sizable block of shares last week, a sale that was not related to stock options nor trading plans. Eduardo H. Cue, Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services since September 2011, liquidated 335,000 shares on Wednesday at prices ranging from $111.53 to $112.31 per share. The shares were held via a trust fund that currently owns a mere 1,464 shares.

At the end of the previous week, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced plans to significantly cut the prices of its USB-C adapters following strong criticism after the company revealed the new MacBook Pro laptops with no standard ports. The new laptops use newer USB-C ports for connecting devices such as smartphones, hard drives and flat-panel displays, which forced many buyers to purchase adopters so they could use peripheral devices. The shares of the iPhone maker have gained 3% this year. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management reported ownership of 11.37 million shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its 13F filing for the third quarter.

CEO of Flowserve Discards Shares After Releasing Disappointing Results

The most well-informed executive at Flowserve Corp (NYSE:FLS) also offloaded a block of shares last week. President and Chief Executive Officer Mark A. Blinn sold 119,232 shares on Wednesday at prices ranging from $41.39 to $41.90 per share, cutting his ownership stake to 194,194 shares.

The insider selling comes shortly after the manufacturer and aftermarket service provider of comprehensive flow control systems released its financial results for the September quarter. The company’s sales for the quarter decreased by a disturbing 14% year-over-year to $943 million, with the decrease being more heavily weighted towards original equipment sales. As stated in one of the company’s recent statements, Flowserve Corp (NYSE:FLS)’s energy and industrial customers remained “deliberate in their investment decisions.” The shares of Flowserve are down by around 2% since the start of the year. John Zaro’s Bourgeon Capital owns 12,000 shares of Flowserve Corp (NYSE:FLS) as of September 30.

Disclosure: None