CEO’s of Popular Pizza-Delivery Chain and Hotel REIT Offload Shares, Plus Insider Buying at 3 Companies

Last week’s dollar volume of insider buying slightly increased week-over-week, implying that corporate insiders do have faith in the underlying strength of the U.S. economy and the business environments their companies are engaged in. Furthermore, last week’s overall value of insider selling was nearly halved week-over-week, which somewhat brightens the near-term outlook even further.

Corporate insiders, namely directors and executives, have a good feel for their companies’ near-term and longer-term prospects. Even low-level employees usually know more about what’s going on with their companies than outside investors and analysts, so imagine for a second the amount of information and knowledge that top-tier executives hold. That is one of the primary reasons why Insider Monkey, hedge fund firms and other stock market participants keeps tabs on insider trading data. That said, the following article will discuss a set of noteworthy insider transactions reported with the Securities and Exchange Commission during the first trading session of this week.

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More Insider Buying at Growing Fabless Semiconductor Company

Three executives at Cavium Inc. (NASDAQ:CAVM) have purchased shares thus far in August, so let’s have a quick look at the most recent insider trading activity. Arthur D. Chadwick, the company’s Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance and Administration since December 2004, bought 20,000 shares on Thursday at a price tag of $55.33 each. After the recent transaction, Mr. Chadwick currently holds an ownership stake of 122,845 shares.

The insider buying comes a few weeks after the provider of highly integrated semiconductor processors completed the acquisition of QLogic Corporation, a supplier of networking infrastructure solutions. Under the terms of the merger agreement, QLogic shareholders received $11 per share in cash and 0.098 shares of Cavium for each share of QLogic. Cavium Inc. (NASDAQ:CAVM)’s market capitalization was down by 41% this year through the end of June, but the stock has been in recovery mode lately, gaining 16% in the past month. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors upped its position in Cavium Inc. (NASDAQ:CAVM) by 23% during the June quarter, to 2.06 million shares.

The next page of this article will discuss the fresh insider buying registered at two companies, while the final page of the article will reveal noteworthy insider selling at two other companies.

Board Member at Struggling Dollar-Store Chain Purchases Some Shares

Let’s now have a look at the first insider purchase of 2016 at Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG). Board member William C. Rhodes III snapped up 5,000 units of common stock on Friday at prices ranging from $76.27 to $76.32 per unit, lifting his direct ownership stake to 10,213 units of common stock. Mr. Rhodes also holds an indirect ownership stake of 23,597 shares, held through a trust fund.

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG), one of the largest discount retailers in the United States, has lost 17% of its market cap in the past month after releasing disappointing financial results for its second quarter of fiscal year 2016 ended July 29. The company revealed that year-over-year sales growth in existing stores fell to 0.7% in the second quarter from 2.2% recorded in the previous quarter. Dollar General blamed changes to food stamp programs around the nation for its weak second quarter sales, as well as falling food prices and intensifying pricing competition. Dollar General shares are 7% in the green thus far in 2016. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies was the owner of 522,900 shares of Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG) at the end of June.

Non-Executive Chairman of Strong-Performing Homebuilder’s Board Buys More Shares

One corporate insider at Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE:BZH) has been on a buying spree this month, so let’s have a look at his most recent transaction. Non-Executive Chairman Stephen P. Zelnak purchased 13,649 shares on Friday at a price of $10.50 per share, boosting his overall holding to 278,087 shares.

The shares of the diversified homebuilder have enjoyed a great run since late-June, with the stock being up by nearly 60% since June 27. Even so, Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE:BZH)’s stock is down by 4% for the year. The company performed quite well during the three-month period ended June 30, with closings increasing to 1,364 from 1,293 recorded in the same period of the prior year. The increase in year-over-year closings, along with a 4% increase in average selling prices, led to a 9.7% increase in homebuilding revenue, to $451.0 million. The number of hedge funds followed by Insider Monkey that were invested in the homebuilder fell to 11 from 14 during the second quarter. Royce & Associates, founded by Chuck Royce, owns 1.42 million shares of Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE:BZH) as of June 30.

The final page of this article will discuss the noteworthy insider selling recently reported at two other companies.

President and CEO of Hotel REIT Offloads Shares

The man in charge of LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE:LHO) sold off half his stake in the company this past week. President and Chief Executive Officer Michael D. Barnello discarded 125,000 shares on Thursday at prices that fell between $28.40 and $28.49 per share, and 25,000 shares on Friday at $28.71 apiece. Following the recent transactions, Mr. Barnello currently owns 149,635 shares.

The real estate investment trust (REIT), which buys, owns and leases upscale and luxury full-service hotels, has seen its market value jump by 13% since the start of 2016. LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE:LHO) owns interests in 47 hotels with more than 12,000 guest rooms, located in ten states and the District of Columbia. The REIT’s hotel operating revenue, including room, food and beverage and other operating department revenue grew by $9.3 million year-over-year to $348.8 million in the second quarter, reflecting the moderately improving economic environment. The REIT received a great deal of attention from the hedge funds tracked by our team in the second quarter, as the number of funds invested in LaSalle Hotel Properties doubled to 14 quarter-over-quarter. George Hall’s Clinton Group reported owning 65,580 shares of LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE:LHO) through the latest round of 13F filings.

Founder of Well-Known Pizza Delivery Chain Sells Shares

The most informed and influential executive at Papa John’s Int’l Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) also unloaded a high quantity of shares last week. John H. Schnatter, the founder and current CEO of Papa John’s International, sold 44,714 shares on Thursday, 22,261 shares on Wednesday, 5,110 shares on Tuesday and 6,373 shares on Monday, at prices varying from $76.00 to $76.37 per share. After the aforementioned string of sales, Mr. Schnatter currently holds an ownership stake of 9.90 million shares.

The pizza delivery chain has seen the value of its shares spike by 34% since the beginning of the year. In late-July, analysts at KeyBanc upgraded Papa John’s Int’l Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) to ‘Overweight’, arguing that more consumers may be opting to eat at home amid increased civil and political disruptions. Specifically, KeyBanc analysts believe “the civil and political disruptions that have negatively impacted restaurant dining may be helping pizza operators that deliver to consumers.” At the end of June, there were 4,935 Papa John’s restaurants operating across the U.S. and 43 international countries and territories. Citadel Advisors had nearly 545,000 shares of Papa John’s Int’l Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) in its portfolio at the end of the June quarter.

Disclosure: None