Noteworthy Insider Selling Witnessed at These 3 Companies

Terex Corporation (NYSE:TEX) also witnessed heavy insider selling last week. Timothy A. Ford, Former President of Terex Cranes at Terex, sold a 4,022-share stake on Tuesday and 60,208 shares on Wednesday, at prices varying from $22.01 to $22.34 per share. The 4,022-share stake was held as part of the seller’s 401(k) plan, while the other block of shares was held directly by Ford. After the recent transactions, he continues to hold a direct ownership stake of 60,480 shares. Terex Corporation announced in August 2015 that the former executive was leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.

The lifting and material handling solutions company entered into a Business Combination Agreement with Finnish Konecranes PLC in August 2015, a merger that will create a cranemaking giant with a market cap of roughly $5.7 billion. Pursuant to the agreement, each shareholder of Terex is set to receive 0.8 Konecranes shares per each Terex share owned. Nonetheless, there is the possibility that the deal will not go through, as Terex announced last week that Chinese cranes and equipment company Zoomlion had proposed to purchase Terex for $30.00 per share in cash. However, some doubt that the Zoomlion-Terex deal will succeed, considering Zoomlion’s weak balance sheet. The shares of Terex have jumped by 45% over the past five-day period, which likely explains why the former executive was cashing out last week. To sum up, it remains to be seen what decision Terex’s Board of Directors will make, as it is currently reviewing the newly-received proposal. David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management LP holds a 1.65 million-share position in Terex Corporation (NYSE:TEX) as of the end of the third quarter.

To wrap up our discussion, let’s examine the recent insider selling activity witnessed at Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (NASDAQ:MXIM). Director James R. Bergman reported selling 27,250 shares on Tuesday at prices ranging from $31.76 to $33.91 per share. Following the recent selloff, the Director holds an ownership stake of 96,600 shares, which also includes unvested restricted stock units. The Director also owns an indirect ownership stake of 25,000 shares through a Family Foundation.

The maker of analog chips had discussions with both Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDAQ:TXN) and Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) last year about a possible sale, but the two potential acquirers recently decided to abandon the talks. Even so, analysts believe that Maxim Integrated could attract some interest from Chinese companies despite its high market capitalization. Maxim Integrated reported net revenue of $1.07 billion for the six months that ended December 26, which compares with the $1.15 billion figure that it reported for the same period the prior year. The company’s revenue from its communications and data center declined by 21% year-over-year due to softening demand for server, basestation and data storage products. The revenue generated from consumer products declined by 10% year-over-year due to lower demand for smartphones, while the company’s automotive net revenue climbed by 37% year-over-year. The stock trades at a rather expensive forward P/E multiple of 17.28, which compares with the average of 15.89 for the companies included in the S&P 500 benchmark. Let’s not forget to mention that the stock is down by 12% year-to-date, but still remains in positive territory for the past 12-month period. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management reported ownership of 2.41 million shares of Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (NASDAQ:MXIM) through its 13F for the third quarter.

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