Insiders at Murphy USA Inc. (MUSA) Keep Buying Shares, Noteworthy Insider Selling at Iconic Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG), and Other Insider Trading

Board Member at Iconic Heavyweight Motorcycle Manufacturer Sell Massive Block of Shares

One member of Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE:HOG)’s Board of Directors offloaded a sizeable block of shares last week, though there were additional minor sales completed by several insiders. Board member Donald A. James liquidated 100,000 shares on Friday at prices ranging from $56.74 to $57.15 per share, shares held by Fred Deeley Limited. Mr. James currently holds an indirect ownership stake of 211,788 shares via Fred Deeley Limited, along with an additional direct ownership stake of 5,522 shares.

The iconic heavyweight motorcycle manufacturer has seen its market capitalization jump by 43% in the past year. Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE:HOG) recently said motorcycle shipments for 2016 fell short of estimates due to strong global competition. The motorcycle maker said dealers in the United States had too many 2016 models at the end of the December quarter, thus forcing the company to limit shipments of its 2017 models. As a result, the company anticipates shipments for 2017 to be flat to down modestly compared to the previous year. Harley-Davidson, which holds around 51.2% of the U.S. big-bike market, has been focusing on selling 2016 motorcycles during the first quarter of this year. William Von Mueffling’s Cantillon Capital Management had 5.46 million shares of Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE:HOG) in its portfolio at the end of December.

Insiders at Network Technology Vendor Sell Shares After Providing Mediocre Guidance

There was some prominent insider selling at F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV) this past week as well. Jonathan Chadwick, who joined the company’s Board of Directors in August 2011, sold 3,954 shares last Tuesday at $137.00 apiece, trimming his ownership to 6,229 shares. The man in charge of the company offloaded a much larger block of shares on Friday, but the transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged trading plan (we avoid insider transactions made under pre-arranged trading plans, as we believe decisions made in the past on when to buy or sell shares are not as informative as spontaneous insider transactions).

The shares of the networking technology vendor are down 3% since the beginning of the year, mainly reflecting a slump after the management provided an outlook that was slightly light compared to what analysts had anticipated. F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV)’s revenue for the three months that ended December rose 5.4% year-on-year to $516 million. The network services provider anticipates revenue for the current quarter to fall in the range of $518 million to $528 million. However, considering that the company’s shares have gained 56% in the past year, the small jump in insider selling should not surprise the investment community. Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management held its position in F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV) unchanged during the fourth quarter of 2016 at around 821,000 shares.

Disclosure: None