Massive Cluster of Insider Selling at Data Management Company and Other Insider Trading

Massive Cluster of Insider Selling at U.S. Data Management Company – Is Goldman’s Sell Rating Justified?

Seven different corporate insiders at Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) offloaded shares at the beginning of the week, so let’s have a quick look at some of the biggest sales. To start with, Chairman and CEO Richard F. “Rick” Smith discarded 74,346 shares on Tuesday at prices ranging from $130.74 to $131.40 per share, trimming his ownership stake to 184,735 shares. John J. Kelley III, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Vice President, unloaded 8,500 shares on the same day at a weighted average price of $130.85 per share. Mr. Kelley owns 11,787 shares after the sale. A total of 8,849 shares were sold by President of U.S. Information Solutions Paulino R. Barros, who currently owns 6,737 shares.

The global provider of information solutions, employment and income verifications and human resources business process outsourcing services has seen the value of its shares climb by 23% in the past year. Analysts at Goldman Sachs believe Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)’s stock, which currently trades above the $130-price-level, is worth only $100. In late January, Goldman analysts downgraded the U.S. data management company to ‘Sell’ from ‘Neutral’, arguing that “innovation won’t overcome demand growth slowdown.” Goldman economists expect U.S. consumer expenditure growth to decelerate through 2017, their autos team anticipates U.S. auto sales growth to pause, and mortgage originations are set to decline due to the rising interest rate environment. As a result, Goldman Sachs believes Equifax will experience a slowdown in credit reports being checked. Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management trimmed its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 19% to around 772,000 shares during the December quarter.

CEO of Infrastructure Products Manufacturer Sells Shares After Releasing Surprising Results

The man in charge of Valmont Industries Inc. (NYSE:VMI) also offloaded a large amount of shares earlier this week. Mogens C. Bay, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since January 1997, sold 14,211 shares on Tuesday for $158.1 each and 35,789 shares on the following day at $160.04 apiece, cutting his ownership to 250,000 shares.

The insider selling mentioned above comes after the shares of the infrastructure products manufacturer surged due to a stronger-than-anticipated earnings report. Valmont Industries Inc. (NYSE:VMI) reported revenue of $675 million for the fourth quarter, marking in increase of 6.4% year-over-year. More importantly, this was the first quarter out of the least 13 quarters that experienced revenue growth. Meanwhile, the company’s management anticipates sales growth in the mid-single digits excluding acquisitions for 2017 although the North American irrigation market is anticipated to be at a cyclical low point. The number of asset managers tracked by Insider Monkey with long positions in Valmont Industries decreased to 20 from 21 during the fourth quarter. The shares of Valmont have gained 33% in the past 12 months. Thomas Bancroft’s Makaira Partners owns roughly 662,000 shares of Valmont Industries Inc. (NYSE:VMI) as of the end of December.

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