Cluster of Insider Selling at High-Yield REIT and Other Noteworthy Insider Trading

Cluster of Insider Selling at Safe REIT Offering Nearly 4% Dividend Yield

A cluster of high-ranked executives at National Retail Properties Inc. (NYSE:NNN) trimmed their equity stakes this past week. To start with, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Craig Macnab, who will retire as CEO and step down as Chairman effective April 28 this year, sold 54,183 shares on Friday at a price of $45.03 per share, cutting his overall holding to 422,333 shares. Chief Investment Officer Paul E. Bayer discarded 7,325 shares last Wednesday at $44.80 apiece, a purchase that trimmed his ownership to 184,053 shares. Last but not least, President and Chief Operating Officer Julian E. Whitehurst, who will assume the role of CEO as of April 28, offloaded 17,761 shares last Tuesday for $44.32 each. Mr. Whitehurst owns 286,586 shares after the Tuesday sale.

The shares of the real estate investment trust that acquires, owns and invests in properties leased mainly to retail tenants such as Target and Wal-Mart under long-term net leases are 4% in the green so far in 2017. As tenants sign leases with long initial terms, National Retail Properties Inc. (NYSE:NNN)’s risks associated with turnover and vacancy risk are minimized. Additionally, the so-called “net lease” structure implies that tenants are paying for variable expenses such as property taxes, building maintenance and insurance, which makes a potential investment in the REIT even more attractive. In mid-October, the REIT’s boardroom approved a quarterly dividend of $0.455 per share, which yields $3.95% annually. The dividend yield seems quite attractive, as National Retail Properties is seen as one of the safest and most durable REITs in the world. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management was the equity holder of 823,000 shares of National Retail Properties Inc. (NYSE:NNN) at the end of December.

Retired CEO of Multi-Bank Holding Company Offloads Shares

One member of Glacier Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:GBCI)’s boardroom unloaded a great deal of shares at the end of the previous week. Director Michael J. Blodnick, who retired as President and CEO of Glacier Bank at the end of 2016, sold 73,648 shares on Friday at prices between $36.58 and $37.03 per share, cutting his direct ownership stake to 27,576 shares. Mr. Blodnick also reported the sale of 26,802 shares at a price of $36.62 per share, a block of shares held by his wife.

The regional multi-bank holding company has seen the value of its shares advance by 57% in the past 12 months. Glacier Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:GBCI) provides banking services to individuals and businesses in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Washington through its wholly-owned bank subsidiary Glacier Bank. Ralph Bassett, who helps manage Aberdeen Asset Management’s Aberdeen U.S. Small Cap Equity Fund, named Glacier Bancorp as one of the favorite stocks held by the fund in a recent interview. “We like that they are in a fairly remote geographic and therefore have little competition,” said Mr. Bassett. He also added that the firm has “done a very good job acquiring local banks that they roll into their cost structure.” Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies owned 848,300 shares of Glacier Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:GBCI) at the end of the fourth quarter.

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