Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. (BECN), National Retail Properties Inc. (NNN) and CNO Financial Group Inc. (CNO) See Insiders Sell Shares

High Dividend-Paying REIT Sees CEO Unload Shares

The man in charge of National Retail Properties Inc. (NYSE:NNN) was caught selling some shares this past week. CEO Craig MacNab discarded 15,832 shares on Friday at $48.40 apiece, trimming his overall holding to 510,000 shares. Two other executives of this real estate investment trust sold shares earlier this month. Michelle Lynn Miller, Chief Accounting Officer and Executive Vice President, sold 2,500 shares on June 9 for $47.82 each, cutting her stake to 22,367 shares. Stephen A. Horn Jr., Chief Acquisitions Officer and Executive Vice President, unloaded 5,000 shares on June 3 at a price tag of $47.03 per share, which cut his holding to 107,424 shares.

The shares of the REIT focused on owning and developing properties leased to retail tenants are currently trading near their 52-week high of $49.27, after having advanced an impressive 22% year-to-date. National Retail Properties Inc. (NYSE:NNN)’s rental income for the first quarter of 2016 was $122.48 million, up 9.3% year-over-year. The increase was mainly driven by a partial year of rental income received from the acquisition of 46 properties, as well as a full year of rental income received from the acquisition of 221 properties in 2015. The REIT owned 2,293 properties at the end of March, 99% of which were leased to tenants operating in various sectors. The diversification is what makes National Retail Properties a stable and low-risk REIT, along with its blue chip clients such as Sunoco, Fitness, 7-Eleven, SunTrust Bank, among others.

The number of hedge funds from our system with long positions in the REIT increased to 13 from 11 during the first quarter of 2016. National Retail Properties currently pays out a quarterly dividend of $0.435 per share, which yields 3.54% annually. John Burbank’s Passport Capital acquired a new stake of 394,221 shares of National Retail Properties Inc. (NYSE:NNN) during the March quarter.

$2.9 Billion-Insurance Company Has Executive Sell Shares Ahead of Sharp Plunge

CNO Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:CNO) has also registered increased insider selling in the past several months, but let’s have a look at the most recent activity only. Christopher J. Nickele, Chief Actuary and Executive Vice President, sold 24,996 shares on Thursday at $19.25 apiece. Following the recent sale, Mr. Nickele currently holds an ownership stake of 74,975 shares.

The $2.88-billion insurance company, better known for its subsidiaries Bankers Life and Casualty, Washington National, and Colonial Penn, has seen its shares plunge by 12% in the past five trading sessions. Apparently, the plunge was triggered by Britons’ decision to leave the European Union on Thursday, so Mr. Nickele appears to have cashed out at the right moment. CNO Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:CNO) develops, markets and administers health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance and other insurance products in the United States. The company’s total premium collections for the first quarter of 2016 were $660.7 million, up 13% relative to the same period of the prior year. The increase reflects a jump in premiums from annuity products, as well as strong persistency in the Medicare supplement and life blocks of business.

There were ten hedge fund vehicles tracked by our team with stakes in the insurance company at the end of March, as compared to eight registered at the end of December. Those ten asset managers hoarded up nearly 6% of the company’s outstanding shares. Joe Huber’s Huber Capital Management reported ownership of 7.44 million shares of CNO Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:CNO) in its latest 13F.

Disclosure: None