What Has Insiders at Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) And Other Companies Cashing Out Their Holdings?

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) was another company that witnessed heavy insider selling activity last week. Mark D. Chandler, Senior Vice President, Legal Services, General Counsel and Secretary, sold 88,331 shares on Wednesday at a weighted average price of $26.87, trimming his stake to 228,959 shares. He also holds an indirect ownership stake of 125,400 shares via a trust fund called Mark Chandler Trust. Several other top executives at the networking giant reported selling shares last week, but those sales were conducted under trading plans, which we don’t cover. On November 20, Cisco revealed its plans to acquire the London-based provider of collaboration infrastructure and conferencing software, Acano Limited, for $700 million in an attempt to strengthen its collaboration business. The company’s switching and routing businesses, which generate most of its revenue, have been losing steam lately, so Cisco is attempting to benefit from the available opportunities in the high-potential collaboration industry. Shares of Cisco Systems are 1% in the red year-to-date and are still trading at an attractive trailing P/E ratio of 14.74, so it is hard to stipulate any firm-specific developments that might have propelled insiders to cash out. The stock lost some of its appeal among the hedge funds tracked by our team, as the number of smart money investors with positions in the company decreased to 67 from 72 during the third quarter. Platinum Asset Management founder Kerr Neilson owned a 9.71 million-share position in Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) on September 30, which represented his second-largest equity holding (read more details).

Last but not least, Regency Centers Corp (NYSE:REG) had one of its top executives sell stock last week. President and Chief Operating Officer Brian M. Smith reported selling 65,578 shares last week at prices between $66.02 and $67.43, cutting his overall holdings to 61,323 shares. Regency Centers Corporation, which began its operations as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in 1993, owns direct or partial interests in 318 shopping centers, most of which are grocery-anchored community and neighborhood centers. The REIT’s business is quite straightforward, as it aims to increase occupancy and rental rates in its existing shopping centers and acquire other shopping centers. Regency plans to maintain an average annual same-property net operating income growth of 3%, which does not seem to justify its high valuation at the moment. The stock is up by 6% for the year and is trading at a rich trailing P/E ratio of 34.47, which is significantly above the average for the S&P 500 companies. Seven hedge funds within our database had positions in the REIT at the end of the September quarter, compared to nine registered at the end of the prior one. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management owns approximately 639,000 shares of Regency Centers Corp (NYSE:REG) as of September 30.

Disclosure: None