Some Insider Buying at Cogint Inc. (COGT) and Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL), Plus Noteworthy Insider Selling at 3 Other Companies

Long-Serving Delta Pilot Acquires Stake in Delta Air Lines

A member of Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s Board of Directors and a long-serving employee initiated a stake in the company this week. Board member Douglas R. Ralph, who has been a Delta pilot since 1991 and is currently a Captain of a Boeing 767ER aircraft, purchased a 1,000-share stake on Monday at $49.04 apiece.

Earlier this month, the second-largest U.S. airline by traffic said it anticipates that its passenger unit revenue for the first quarter of 2017 will increase in the range of 0%-to-2%, which could represent the first quarterly increase in two years should expectations be met. Analysts at securities brokerage and investment banking firm Imperial Capital recently reiterated their $52 price target on Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL) despite lowering estimates modestly on higher fuel costs, which are expected to offset higher unit revenues. To be more detailed, Imperial Capital analysts expect passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) to increase by 2.5% in fiscal 2017 versus 0.5% previously, whereas the price of jet fuel is anticipated to average $1.75 per gallon in fiscal 2017 versus $1.65 previously. Charles Paquelet’s Skylands Capital trimmed its stake in Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 8% to 163,800 shares during the fourth quarter.

Board Member at Bank Holding Company Offloads Huge Block of Shares

Having discussed some insider buying reported on Tuesday, we can now focus on a set of noteworthy insider sales reported on the same day. To begin with, one member of People’s United Financial Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT)’s Board discarded a great deal of shares this week according to a fresh Form 4 filing. Board member Richard M. Hoyt offloaded 100,000 shares on Tuesday at prices varying from $18.88 to $18.90 per share. After the sizable sale, Mr. Hoyt currently owns a total of 62,882 shares.

The shares of the bank holding company for People’s United Bank, National Association have gained 33% in the past year, which possibly explains the Board member’s decision to offload shares. The sale comes shortly after People’s United Financial Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT) released its financial results for the fourth quarter, when the company reported net income of $281 million for 2016 versus $260.1 million for 2015. In late-June, the company agreed to acquire New York-based Suffolk Bancorp (NYSE:SCNB), which had total assets of $2.2 billion, deposits of $1.9 billion and operated 27 branches in the greater Long Island area at the end of September. The acquisition will deepen the acquirer’s presence in the New York metro area. The hedge fund sentiment towards People’s United Financial declined during the third quarter, as the number of asset managers tracked by our system that were invested in the bank holding company dropped to 12 from 17. Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management had 1.65 million shares of People’s United Financial Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT) in its portfolio at the end of the third quarter.

The next page will discuss the fresh insider selling observed at two other companies.