Several Insiders at Enterprise Financial Services Corp (EFSC) Offload Shares Before Earnings Release, Plus Other Notable Insider Trading

Several Insiders at EFSC Offload Shares Before Earnings Release

Two insiders at Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) opted to trim their holdings of company stock earlier this week. Board member James J. Murthy Jr., former Non-Executive Chairman of the company’s Board, discarded 10,000 shares on Tuesday at a price of $38.50 per share, shares held through a gift trust that now owns 123,838 EFSC shares. Mr. Murthy also keeps 36,526 shares in a charitable remainder trust, as well as an additional 205 shares in another trust. More importantly, President and CEO Peter F. Benoist sold 15,000 shares on the same day at a price tag of $38.94 each, with the entire block of shares being formerly held in a trust fund that currently owns 113,756 shares. Mr. Benoist also owns a direct ownership stake of 107,459 shares.

Interestingly enough, the aforementioned insider selling comes shortly before the company operating commercial banking and wealth management businesses is set to release its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2016 on January 23. Would the insiders sell shares if they knew Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) enjoyed a strong fourth quarter? Not likely! However, should the company release disappointing financial results that will be accompanied by a share price decline, regulators might want to look into the insider selling discussed above unless the insiders sold the shares in a pre-arranged fashion. Small-cap specialist Royce & Associates, founded by Chuck Royce, owned 241,500 shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) on September 30.

Board Member at Lakeland Industries Sells Shares Despite Share Price Underperformance

One member of Lakeland Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE)’s boardroom also sold a couple thousand of shares this week. Board member Thomas J. McAteer liquidated 1,700 shares for $10.75 each and 1,300 shares at $10.80 apiece on Wednesday, cutting his overall holding to 58,277 shares. Chief Operating Officer Stephen M. Bachelder sold 3,129 shares last Monday at a weighted average price of $10.70 per share. Mr. Bachelder currently owns 60,119 shares after the not-so-distant sale.

Lakeland Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE), which manufactures and sells a wide line of safety garments and accessories for the industrial and public protective clothing market, has seen its market cap drop by 10% in the past year. The company’s net sales for the three months that ended October 31 decreased to $23.2 million from $24.9 million, reflecting global softness in the industrial sector that partially resulted from a continuing downturn in the oil and gas industry. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies LLC had 380,000 shares of Lakeland Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE) in its equity portfolio at the end of September.

Disclosure: None