Massive Cluster of Insider Selling at Lennox International Inc. (LII) and 2 Other Well-Known Companies

Cluster of Insider Selling at Major HVAC Industry Player

Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII) registered a cluster of insider selling earlier this week, which involved four different insiders. One of these insiders conducted the sale under a pre-arranged trading plan, which we’ll by pass reporting on. Of the remaining three we’ll start with Roy A. Rumbough Jr., Chief Accounting Officer, Vice President and Controller, who sold 1,410 shares on Wednesday for $151.23 each after 198 stock appreciation rights were exercised on the same day. After the recent transactions, Mr. Rumbough owns 2,524 shares. David W. Moon, Executive Vice President, President and Chief Operating Officer of LII’s Worldwide Refrigeration business, discarded 4,500 shares on Wednesday at prices varying from $150.45 to $151.77 per share, cutting his stake to 105,368 shares. Last but certainly not least, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Joseph W. Reitmeier sold 9,700 shares on the same day at prices ranging from $150.30 to $151.62 per share, which trimmed his overall holding to 12,286 shares.

The major player in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) industry has seen the value of its stock appreciate by 20% so far in 2016. Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII)’s net sales for the second quarter increased by 3% year-over-year to $1.02 billion. Analysts believe there is significant pent-up demand in the HVAC market, as many of the units installed in the mid-2000’s amid the housing boom are reaching the end of their useful life and need replacement.

A total of 17 asset managers in our system were invested in Lennox International at the end of the March quarter. Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management owned 221,007 shares of Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII) on March 31.

More Insider Selling at Strong Performing Software Giant

The insider selling activity at Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) has been gaining steam in recent months, with two different insiders selling shares earlier this week (one of whom sold solely freshly-exercised stock options). In the other instance, John E. Warnock, a co-founder and co-chairman at Adobe Systems, discarded 2,000 shares on Wednesday at a price tag of $98.51 each, all of which were held by the Warnock Family Trust, which currently owns 579,115 shares. Dr. Warnock also holds a direct ownership stake of 16,088 shares.

The shares of the software giant are up by 2% in 2016 and by an impressive 247% over the past five years, as the company has successfully transitioned to a subscription-only model. Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) operates as a developer and marketer of software tools for creating, managing, measuring, and optimizing digital design content that used to be sold in physical formats for set fees. The transition to cloud computing has paid off handsomely for shareholders and corporate insiders, some of whom have been cashing out of their holdings as of late. In late June, the company reported record quarterly revenue of $1.40 billion for its second quarter of fiscal year 2016 ended June 3, marking year-over-year top-line growth of 20%.

The number of hedge funds in our database with long positions in Adobe Systems rose to 63 from 46 during the first quarter of 2016. Beech Hill Partners, run by Paul Cantor, acquired a new stake of 6,230 shares of Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) during the second quarter.

Disclosure: None