It was a quiet week when it came to insider buying. Dish Networks had a big percentage move off the bottom as rumors floated that Amazon might be finally making a move with the cellular bandwidth that Dish has spent so many billions of dollars accumulating. On Friday, it gave back 12.5%. Nothing deters Director DeFranco as he bought $ 1.8 million more of Dish. There might actually be a plan for their madness, and it may have nothing at all to do with Amazon. Perhaps there is a SpaceX rescue coming? At this point, Dish stock is like an option without expiration.
I’m not going to do my weekly opinion pieces this week as I’ve been battling a cold, virus, a new form of Covid, Pneumonia, or whatever; it is very energy-draining. Here are the notable trades, and I hope you can profit from the knowledge. If you find it useful, share it with a friend or someone that’s been clipping coupons while the S&P 500 has stormed higher this year by over 12%.
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Name: Daryl N. Bible
Position: Sr. EVP & CFO
Transaction Date: 2023-06-01 Shares Bought: 10,000 Average Price Paid: $120.61 Cost: $1,206,082
Company: M&T Bank Corp (MTB)
M&T Bank Corporation serves as the parent corporation for Manufacturers and Traders Trust corporation and Wilmington Trust, National Association, both of which provide retail and commercial banking services in the United States. The Business Banking section of the corporation provides small companies and professionals with deposit, loan, cash management, and other financial services. Its Commercial Banking business offers middle-market and big commercial clients deposit products, commercial loans, leasing, letters of credit, and cash management services. The Commercial Real Estate section of the corporation creates, sells, and services commercial real estate loans, as well as providing deposit and credit services. Deposits, securities, residential real estate loans, and other assets are available via its Discretionary Portfolio division, as are short and long-term borrowed money and foreign exchange services.
Daryl N. Bible is the Chief Financial Officer of M&T Bank Corp. Mr. Bible also serves on the board of The YMCA of Greater Charlotte. He is a CFA North Carolina Society member, the CFO Roundtable, and the CFA Society of Cincinnati. Daryl N. Bible has previously held the positions of Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP at Truist Financial Corp., Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP at BB&T Corp., Treasurer for U.S. Bancorp, and Fund Manager at Star Banc Corp., Treasurer for AmeriServ Financial, Inc. and Member of The Financial Services Roundtable. Mr. Bible graduated from the University of Cincinnati with an MBA and an undergraduate degree.
Opinion:
Name: Jeffrey J II Jones
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-06-07 Shares Bought: 1,525 Average Price Paid: $65.94 Cost: $100,559
Company: Advance Auto Parts Inc (AAP)
Name: John Francis Ferraro
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-06-07 Shares Bought: 1,525 Average Price Paid: $65.56 Cost: $99,979
Company: Advance Auto Parts Inc (FAAP)
Name: Eugene I Jr Lee
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-06-07 Shares Bought: 7,635 Average Price Paid: $65.51 Cost: $500,160
Company: Advance Auto Parts Inc (AAP)
Advance Auto Parts Inc is a significant automobile aftermarket parts seller in North America, supplying professional installers, “do-it-yourself” clients, and independently owned businesses. The shops and locations provide a wide range of brand names, original equipment manufacturers, and owned automobile replacement parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance products for domestic and foreign cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, and light and heavy-duty trucks. The Advance Stores Company, Incorporated, was formed in 1929 and operated as a general goods store until the 1980s. During the 1980s, the firm focused on selling automobile parts and accessories to do-it-yourself clients. The firm launched the professional delivery program in 1996 and has gradually boosted sales to professional clients since 2000.
Mr. Jones joined the Board of Directors in February 2019. Mr. Jones has been President and Chief Executive Officer of H&R Block, Inc., a worldwide consumer tax services company, since October 2017. From September 2016 to March 2017, Mr. Jones was President of Ride Sharing at Uber Technologies Inc., an on-demand vehicle service firm, and from April 2012 to September 2016, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Target Corporation, a retail sales organization. Before joining Target Corporation, Mr. Jones had senior and leadership positions in sales, agency, and marketing with well-known companies such as The Coca-Cola Company and The Gap, Inc. Since 2017; he has served as a director of H&R Block, Inc.
Mr. Ferraro joined the Board of Directors in February 2015. From November 2015 until May 2016, Mr. Ferraro served as the independent Lead Director. In November 2022, Mr. Ferraro established RP Intellectual Partners LLC, a successor to a portion of Alpha Alpha Intellectual Partners LLC. From February 2019 until July 2019, he was also Executive Vice President, Strategy and Sales at Aquilon Energy Services, a software and services firm for the energy sector. For 35 years, Mr. Ferraro worked as a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Ferraro has been a director of ManpowerGroup Inc., a workforce solutions provider, since January 2016, and of International Flavours & Fragrances Inc., a flavor and fragrance producer, since May 2015.
Mr. Lee is currently the Chairman and served as the Chief Executive Officer of Darden Restaurants, Inc., the owner, and operator of Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V’s, and Yard House restaurants in North America, from January 2021 to May 2022. Mr. Lee served as Darden’s President and CEO from February 2015 to January 2021, President and Interim CEO from October 2014 to February 2015, and President and Chief Operating Officer from September 2013 to October 2014. From October 2007 until September 2013, he was President of Darden’s Specialty Restaurant Group after Darden purchased RARE Hospitality International, Inc., where he had been President and a member of the Board of Directors since 2001.
Opinion:
Name: Christopher Rondeau
Position: Chief Executive Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-06-05 Shares Bought: 10,000 Average Price Paid: $64.98 Cost: $649,850
Company: Planet Fitness Inc. (PLNT)
Planet Fitness Inc., with a well-recognized national brand, is one of the world’s biggest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness centers. The organization aims to improve people’s lives by delivering a high-quality exercise experience in a friendly, non-intimidating setting known as the Judgement Free Zone. The company’s bright, clean stores are typically 20,000 square feet in size, with a large selection of high-quality, purple and yellow Planet Fitness-branded cardio, circuit, and weight-training equipment and friendly staff trainers who offer unlimited free fitness instruction to all of the members in small groups through the PE@PF program.
Chris Rondeau has been the CEO of Planet Fitness since January 2013. Before that, he was the Chief Operating Officer from 2003. Mr. Rondeau joined Planet Fitness in 1993, operating the front desk at the company’s initial site in Dover, NH, one year after the original owners, Michael and Marc Grondahl, founded the company in 1992. The brand now has over 2,000 outlets around the country. Mr. Rondeau, an inventive entrepreneur, was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year and was inducted into the UNH Alumni Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. Mr. Rondeau also got an honorary doctorate from Philadelphia University and the University’s honorary innovation award. He joined the International Franchise Association Board of Directors in 2020; board members are recruited from a world-class group of franchise businesses.
Opinion:
Name: Douglas B Hansen
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-06-07 Shares Bought: 9,425 Average Price Paid: $26.53 Cost: $250,045
Company: Four Corners Property Trust Inc. (FCPT)
Four Corners Property Trust Inc. is a Maryland business and real estate investment trust that owns, buys, and rents buildings for use in the restaurant and retail sectors. Most of the company’s income comes from renting out properties to tenants on a “net lease” basis, which means that the tenants are mostly responsible for ongoing costs like utilities, property taxes, insurance, common area maintenance charges, and maintenance and repair costs. The company focuses on properties that bring in money and are rented to good tenants in key places across the United States. The company also makes money from franchise agreements with Darden that allow it to run the Kerrow Restaurant Operating Business.
Douglas B. Hansen joined the Board of Directors in 2015. Mr. Hansen also chairs Compensation Committee and serves on the Investment, Nominating, and Governance Committees. Mr. Hansen was the CEO of Atria Properties, LLC, a commercial real estate brokerage firm, from 2011 until 2017. Mr. Hansen has been the President of Resonant Capital, Inc., a business services and real estate firm, since 2009. Mr. Hansen founded Redwood Trust, Inc., a public mortgage REIT, and served as its President from 1994 until 2008. He has also served as a director of Redwood Trust, Inc. since 1994. Mr. Hansen graduated from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
Opinion:
Name: Michael McCabe I
Position: Head of Strategy
Transaction Date: 2023-06-01 Shares Bought: 95,000 Average Price Paid: $23.31 Cost: $2,214,480
Company: StepStone Group Inc. (STEP)
StepStone Group Inc is a worldwide private markets investment organization offering customers customized investment solutions and advisory, data, and administrative services. Some of the world’s largest public and private defined benefit and defined contribution pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and insurance companies are among the clients, as are prominent endowments, foundations, family offices, and private wealth clients, including high-net-worth and mass-affluent individuals. The firm collaborates with clients to establish and build private markets portfolios tailored to their individual goals across private equity, infrastructure, private debt, and real estate asset classes.
Mr. McCabe is the head of strategic planning at StepStone and a member of the private equity team. He is also a board of directors member and is active in numerous investment and risk management initiatives. Before joining StepStone in 2010, Mr. McCabe was a member of Hamilton Lane’s investment committee and helped supervise the firm’s secondary and co-investment practices, which are committed money from institutional investors. Before that, he was a director on the due diligence team of CEMEX SA de C.V., a worldwide construction materials firm. Mr. McCabe earned his bachelor’s degree from Drexel University and his MBA from Columbia Business School.
Opinion:
Name: James Defranco
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-06-01 Shares Bought: 300,000 Average Price Paid: $6.00 Cost: $1,800,000
Company: Dish Network Corp. (DISH)
DISH Network Corporation was formed in 1995 as a Nevada business under Nevada law. In March 1996, the firm launched the DISH branded pay-TV service, followed by the SLING® branded pay-TV service in January 2015, and retail wireless services in July 2020. DISH Network Corporation is a conglomerate. The Pay-TV business plan aims to be the top video service provider in the United States by offering goods with cutting-edge technology, exceptional customer service, and amazing value. The firm promotes Pay-TV services by offering consumers a better “price-to-value” connection and experience than other subscription television service providers.
Jim DeFranco is one of DISH’s Executive Vice Presidents and has been a vice president and member of the Board of Directors since the company’s inception. During the last five years, he has held numerous executive officer and director roles with DISH’s subsidiaries. In 1980, Jim co-founded DISH Network with Charlie Ergen and Cantey Ergen.
Opinion:
Name: Salil Seshadri
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-06-07 Shares Bought: 100,000 Average Price Paid: $4.20 Cost: $420,222
Company: Ranpak Holdings Corp. (PACK)
Ranpak is a global leader in providing ecologically friendly, system-based product protection and end-of-line automation solutions for e-commerce and industrial supply chains. Since its foundation in 1972, the firm has provided high-quality protective packaging while being committed to environmental sustainability. The firm offers its goods to end customers largely via a distributor network and directly to a small group of end users. Ranpak Holdings Corp. was established in 1972 and is based in Concord Township, Ohio.
Salil Seshadri serves on the boards of directors of Ezetap Mobile Solutions Pvt Ltd., Niyo Solutions, Inc., Ranpak Holdings Corp., and Anello Photonics, Inc. Mr. Seshadri formerly worked at Soros Fund Management LLC as a Principal and at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. as Vice President-Hedge Fund Strategies Group. Salil Seshadri earned his undergraduate degree from The Trustees of Columbia University in New York City.
Opinion:
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Insiders sell the stock for many reasons, but they generally buy for just one – to make money. You’ve always heard the best information is inside information. Everyone who has any experience at in the stock market pays close attention to what insiders are doing. After all, who knows a business better than the people running it? Officers, directors, and 10% owners are required to inform the public through a Form 4 Filing any transaction, buy, sell, exercise, or any other within 48 hours of doing so. This info is available for free from the SEC’s Web site, Edgar, although we subscribe to SECForm4 as they provide a way to manage and make sense of the vast realms of data. I’ve tried a lot of vendors. SECForm4 is one of the smaller ones, but I like supporting Frank. He is not arrogant. He’s helpful and has great prices. He also trades on his own data, so I like people that eat what they kill.
The bar is different from selling because the natural state of management is to be a seller. This is because most companies provide significant amounts of management compensation packages as stock and options. Therefore, with selling, we analyze unusual patterns, such as insiders selling 25 percent or more of their holdings or multiple insiders selling near 52-week lows. Another red flag is large planned sale programs that start without warning. Unfortunately, the public information disclosure requirements about these programs, referred to as Rule 10b5-1, are horrendously poor. Also, planned sales that pop up out of nowhere are basically sales and are seeking cover under this corporate welfare loophole. I also generally ignore 10 percent shareholders as they tend to be OPM (other people’s money) and perhaps not the smart money on which we are trying to read the tea leaves. I say generally because some 10% shareholders are great investors. Think Warren Buffett, Icahn, and others
Of course, insiders can also be wrong about their Company’s prospects. Don’t let anyone fool you into believing they never make mistakes. Do your own analysis. They can easily be wrong, and in many cases, maybe most cases have no more idea what the future may hold than you or me. In short, you can lose money following them. We have, and we curse aloud; what were they thinking!
We like Fly on the Wall for keeping up with what events might be happening, analysts’ comments, and whatever else could be moving the stock. Dow Jones news service is an essential tool but many services pick up their feed like they do Bloomberg. For quick financial analysis, it’s hard to beat Old School Value.
A big callout to my assistant Ambreen who sets up this conversation by listing the notable buys that I’ve identified. She probes the 10k for a reasonable description of the business. I’ve found that to be the most accurate and succinct place to find out what a business actually does. The websites and marketing material are just that, poorly disguised marketing material for many. I should know that better than most if you at my past involvement in building the 1st websites for many Fortune 500 companies.
No one tracks and understands insider behavior better than us. We’ve been doing it religiously since 2001 when I quit being an insider myself and devoted myself full-time to managing my personal investments. Needless to say, past good fortune is no guarantee of future success. We may own positions, long or short, in any of these names and are under no obligation to disclose that.
This blog is solely for educational purposes and the author’s own amusement. Don’t rely on this blog. Think of the blog as part of my personal investment journal that I am willing to share with the DIY investor. We welcome your comments on our analysis, but please do your own research. Investing with The Insiders Fund is for qualified investors and by Prospectus only. Nothing herein should be construed otherwise. THE INSIDERS FUND prefers to invest in companies at or near prices that management has been willing to invest significant amounts of their own money in, but we have no requirement to do so. We also invest in many companies in anticipation of future insider buying or with the expectation that there is none at all.
You can be an insider, too– by clicking here
Prosperous Trading,
