Founder of Largest U.S. Homebuilder Sells Shares Amid Signs of Housing Recovery & Other Noteworthy Insider Trading

Founder of Largest U.S. Homebuilder Sells Massive Amount of Shares Amid Signs of Housing Recovery

Let’s shift our focus toward the insider selling at D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE:DHI), where one well-informed insider offloaded a massive amount of shares last week. Founder and Chairman Donald R. Horton sold 772,252 shares on Friday, 1.07 million shares on Thursday and 162,290 shares on Wednesday at prices ranging from $30.83 to $31.90 per share. After this series of sales, Mr. Horton currently owns an aggregate of 23.01 million shares.

The largest homebuilder in the United States has seen the value of its shares advance by 12% in the past year, partially reflecting strong gains after releasing better-than-expected financial results for its first fiscal quarter earlier this month. D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE:DHI)’s new orders in the three months that ended December 31 increased by 14% year-on-year to 9,241 homes, above analysts’ estimates of 8,717. This serves as the latest indication of the housing market’s recovery. In another sign of the housing recovery, the home builder was recently upgraded by Moody’s Investors Service, regaining investment grade status and getting rid of the so-called “fallen angel” status. Edgar Wachenheim’s Greenhaven Associates increased its position in D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE:DHI) by 10% during the fourth quarter to 7.40 million shares.

Massive Cluster of Insider Selling at Webster Financial

Numerous insiders at Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) offloaded shares last week, some of whom mostly sold freshly-exercised stock options. To start with, Chairman and CEO James C. Smith offloaded 100,284 shares on Wednesday at prices that fell between $54.27 and $54.62 per share, cutting his direct ownership stake to 262,841 shares. Executive Vice Chairman Joseph J. Savage sold 8,000 shares on Thursday at $54.46 apiece, all of which were held indirectly via his 401(k) plan. Board member Mark Pettie unloaded 1,912 shares on Thursday and 2,841 shares on Wednesday at prices varying from $54.56 to $54.91 per share. Mr. Pettie owns a total of 21,177 shares following the two sales. These transactions were the only insider sales that did not involve freshly-exercised stock options.

The shares of the bank holding company and financial holding company have jumped 63% in the past one year, which possibly explains the surge in insider selling. Specifically, the increase in insider selling comes after Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) released its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2016, a year the management described as “its best year ever.” The company registered its 29^th consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue growth and its 18^th consecutive quarter of double-digit year-on-year commercial loan growth. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management has also started cashing out portions of its stake in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS), as the asset manager cut its stake in the company by 4% during the fourth quarter to 2.46 million shares.

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