There are a few insider buys this week. As usual, there are a lot of sellers.
Name: Roland D Diggelmann
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-11-13 Shares Bought: 315 Average Price Paid: $1,026.54 Cost: $323,360
Company: Mettler Toledo International Inc (MTD)
Mettler Toledo International Inc. is a global leader in precision instrumentation and services. The company has strong leadership positions in most businesses and worldwide market leadership. The company is known as an innovator, and solutions are vital in key R&D, quality control, and manufacturing processes for customers in various industries, including life sciences, food, and chemicals. The sales and service network is among the largest in the business. The products are offered in over 140 countries, and the company has a direct presence in about 40. The company has a lengthy track record of good financial performance thanks to proven growth strategies and a focus on execution. The business manufactures precision laboratory instruments for sample preparation, synthesis, analytical benchtop, material characterization, and in-line measurement.
Roland Diggelmann has been a director since August 2022. He is a member of the Audit and Compensation Committees. From 2019 to 2022, he was Chief Executive Officer of Smith & Nephew Plc. Before this position, he was CEO of Roche Diagnostics from 2012 to 2018 and managing director of the Asia Pacific area from 2008 to 2012. Previously, Mr. Diggelmann held top management positions at Zimmer Holdings, Centerpulse, and Sulzer Medica. He is a Swiss citizen who serves on the Nomination and Compensation Committee of Sonova Holding AG.Mr. Diggelmann has over ten years of executive experience serving customers in the pharmaceutical/life science business, a critical end market for the company.
Opinion: Macro weakness, currency, and China issues are just some of the possible reasons for the dismal performance. Is this the turnaround signal we are looking for? It’s a modest purchase by a knowledgeable director. I’d like to see more insiders buying this falling knife before I pull the trigger, though.
Name: James C Foster
Position: Chairman, President and CEO
Transaction Date: 2023-11-14 Shares Bought: 5,620 Average Price Paid: $178.05 Cost: $1,000,641
Company: Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (CRL)
Charles River Laboratories International Inc. is a full-service, non-clinical worldwide drug development partner to improve people’s lives. The firm has expanded on its initial core strength of laboratory animal medicine and science to build a comprehensive array of discovery and safety assessment services, both GLP and non-GLP, that serve customers from target selection through non-clinical development. The firm also offers a variety of goods and services to help customers with their manufacturing operations, including the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) industry. Using a diverse array of goods and services helps customers to construct a more efficient and adaptable drug development model, which lowers costs, improves productivity and effectiveness, and accelerates time to market.
James C. Foster is the Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Charles River Laboratories, a major producer of vital products and services that fully support the drug discovery and early-stage development process. Mr. Foster has held several positions at Charles River since commencing his career in 1976, including Vice President of Administration and General Counsel, President of Charles River Biotechnical Services, and Executive Vice President of Charles River. Mr. Foster was appointed President in 1991, Chief Executive Officer in 1992, and Chairman in 2000. Mr. Foster works for Cell Signaling Technology as a Senior Advisor. He is a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Foster graduated from Lake Forest College with a B.A., MIT with an M.S. and Boston University School of Law with a J.D.
Opinion: The Gates Foundation owns nearly 5% of CRLThis is a good size purchase. More research is warranted. I plan on listening to the quarterly earnings call. After selling millions of dollars worth of the stock since 2019, this is the CEO’s first purchase. Based on the recent stock performance, he might be embarrassed enough by his performance that he felt compelled to purchase some stock to placate unhappy shareholders. I would.
Name: Joseph D Margolis
Position: Chief Executive Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-11-10 Shares Bought: 4,200 Average Price Paid: $118.21 Cost: $496,482
Company: Extra Space Storage Inc. (EXR)
Extra Space Storage Inc. is a fully integrated, self-administered, and self-managed real estate investment trust founded on April 30, 2004, as a Maryland corporation. The company was established to carry on the operations of Extra Space Storage LLC and its subsidiaries, which had been in the self-storage business since 1977. After completing the IPO and various formation transactions, these entities were reorganized. The executive management team and board of directors have vast experience and hold equity in the company. The company owns, operates, manages, lends on, purchases, develops, and redevelops self-storage facilities. The company operates and manages the business by evaluating the operating performance of the whole portfolio, including wholly-owned stores, retailers with a minority stake, and managed stores.
Joseph D. Margolis has been the Chief Executive Officer since January 1, 2017. From July 2015 to December 31, 2016, he was the Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer. He was also Senior Managing Director and Partner of Penzance Properties, a vertically integrated owner, operator, and developer of office and other properties in the Washington, D.C. metro region, from 2011 until July 2015. From 2004 to 2011, Mr. Margolis co-founded Arsenal Real Estate Funds, a private real estate investment management organization. Mr. Margolis previously worked as an in-house real estate counsel for The Prudential Insurance Company of America from 1988 to 1992 and as a real estate associate at the legal firm of Nutter, McClennen & Fish from 1986 to 1988. Mr. Margolis is a Harvard College and Columbia University School of Law graduate.
Opinion: Storage REITS will be strong performers when the Fed takes its foot off the throat of the economy with its higher for longer interest rate regiment.
Name: Scott Wagner
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-11-14 Shares Bought: 8,750 Average Price Paid: $58.00 Cost: $507,500
Company: BILL Holdings Inc. (BILL)
Name: David Hornik
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-11-13 Shares Bought: 17,710 Average Price Paid: $56.49 Cost: $1,000,438
Company: BILL Holdings Inc. (BILL)
BILL Holdings Inc. is the market leader in financial automation software for small and medium-sized enterprises. As an advocate for small and medium-sized enterprises, the company is automating the future of finance so businesses can prosper. Hundreds of businesses rely on BILL to better manage their payables, receivables, spending, and expenses. The network connects millions of members, allowing them to pay or get paid more quickly. The company is a valued partner of prominent US financial institutions, accounting firms, and accounting software vendors, with headquarters in San Jose, California. BILL’s purpose-built, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled financial software platform connects customers, suppliers, and clients in real time.
Mr. Scott W. Wagner serves as an Independent Director of Stratim Cloud Acquisition Corp., Nebula Caravel Acquisition Corp., TWC Tech Holdings II Corp., YAM Special Holdings, Inc., an Independent Director of Brigantine Acquisition Corp., and an Independent Director of Mistico Acquisition Corp. Mr. Wagner formerly worked at GoDaddy, Inc. as Chief Executive Officer and Director, GoDaddy.com LLC as Chief Executive Officer and Director, KKR Capstone as Head-North American Operations, and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP as Investment Manager. He attended Yale University for his undergraduate studies and Harvard Business School for his MBA.
David Hornik has been a board of directors member since May 2016. Mr. Hornik has been the General Partner of August Capital, a venture capital firm, since June 2000 and the Founder and General Partner of Lobby Capital, a venture capital firm, since January 2021. Mr. Hornik has served on the board of directors of Fastly, a cloud computing firm, since February 2012, and he now serves on the boards of directors of other privately owned companies. From August 2004 to September 2017, he was on the board of directors of Splunk, a machine data analytics software provider. Mr. Hornik graduated from Stanford University with an A.B. in Political Science, an A.B. in Computer Music, an M. Phil in Criminology from Cambridge University, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Opinion: Two sizeable purchases after a stock meltdown should put a temporary floor on the stock. Intuit’s Quickbooks Online could be an existential threat, but at some price, this strong billing competitor is a good buy.
Name: Bradley J Ehrman
Position: Chief Executive Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-11-10 Shares Bought: 4,453 Average Price Paid: $28.03 Cost: $124,818
Company: Dorchester Minerals L.P. (DMLP)
Dorchester Minerals, L.P. is a publicly traded Delaware limited partnership formed by the merger of Dorchester Hugoton, Ltd., Republic Royalty Company, L.P., and Spinnaker Royalty Company, L.P. on January 31, 2003. Republic and Spinnaker were private Texas limited partnerships, whereas Dorchester Hugoton was a publicly traded Texas limited partnership. Dorchester Minerals Management L.P. manages its general partner, Dorchester Minerals Management GP LLC. As a result, the Board of Managers of Dorchester Minerals Management GP LLC effectively controls the Partnership. The company’s principal business goal is to provide an attractive yield to our unitholders by focusing on strategic asset management and balance sheet protection while maintaining a best-in-class cost structure.
Bradley J. Ehrman is now the Chief Executive Officer of Dorchester Minerals LP, as well as the Chief Operating Officer of Dorchester Minerals Management GP LLC and Dorchester Minerals Operating GP LLC. Mr. Ehrman was previously the Vice President-Operations of Dorchester Minerals Operating LP. Mr. Ehrman earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Alberta and his MBA from Rice University.
Opinion: The CEO also purchased $250k worth of stock. Another mineral and royalty dividend play, BSM, also had insider buying this week. The 11.9% current dividend yield looks interesting, considering that natural gas is at extremely low prices, and LNG export demand is expected to grow 25-50% in the 2024-2028 time range.
Name: George P Sakellaris
Position: President and CEO/10% Owner
Transaction Date: 2023-11-09 Shares Bought: 40,000 Average Price Paid: $22.57 Cost: $902,656
Company: Ameresco Inc. (AMRC)
Ameresco is a prominent clean technology integrator, developer, owner, and operator of renewable energy assets. The company’s offering includes energy efficiency, infrastructure enhancements, asset sustainability, and renewable energy solutions. The main services include the conception, design, financing, building, and installation of solutions that provide measurable cost and energy savings while improving a facility’s operations, energy security, infrastructure, and resiliency. These solutions span from energy infrastructure enhancements to creating, constructing, and operating renewable energy facilities. As a dependable sustainability partner, the company constantly strives to assist customers in reducing their carbon footprint and environmental effects. In addition to organic expansion, strategic acquisitions of complementary businesses and assets, as well as the formation of joint ventures, have been and continue to be critical components of the growth strategy.
Mr. Sakellaris is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Ameresco, Inc., and the Board of Directors Chairman, a prominent energy efficiency and renewable energy company based in Framingham, Massachusetts. Mr. Sakellaris, a visionary and entrepreneur, launched Ameresco in April 2000. He wished to establish an entirely product-neutral and supplier-independent energy company with the skills, capabilities, and foresight to develop independent energy solutions that went beyond conservation, one that addressed a customer’s entire energy stream, including supply and demand, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. Mr. Sakellaris holds an M.B.A. and an M.S.E.E. from Northeastern University and a B.S.E.E. from the University of Maine – Orono.
Opinion:
Name: D Mark DeWalch
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-11-16 Shares Bought: 44,000 Average Price Paid: $17.32 Cost: $761,952
Company: Black Stone Minerals L.P. (BSM)
Black Stone Minerals L.P. is one of the United States’ biggest owners and managers of oil and natural gas mineral holdings. The company’s main activity is to actively manage and increase the value of current mineral and royalty assets while broadening the asset base through the purchase of new mineral and royalty holdings. The company adds value by letting people know about mineral properties that are available for lease, coming up with creative ways to structure lease agreements to encourage and speed up drilling, and carefully choosing which lessees to work with on a working interest basis. The company thinks that its wide range of assets and long-lasting, non-cost-bearing mineral and royalty interests will lead to consistent production and reserves over time. This will allow it to give unitholders the vast majority of its cash flow.
Mr. DeWalch has been the General Partner’s director since March 2015. From 2009 until 2015, Mr. DeWalch was the director of BSNR. Mr. DeWalch has been the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of DeWalch Technologies, Inc. since 1993 and a company co-owner since 1995. Mr. DeWalch has been a member of the DeWalch Technologies, Inc. board of directors since 1985. Mr. DeWalch is also the President of DeWalch Holdings LLC and a co-owner of the company. Mr. DeWalch is the Executive Vice President of DeWalch FM LLC and a co-owner. Mr. DeWalch started his commercial banking career as a loan officer in New York with the Irving Trust Company. Mr. DeWalch earned an M.B.A. and a B.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.
Opinion:
Name: Stephen J Luczo
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-11-13 Shares Bought: 62,500 Average Price Paid: $15.55 Cost: $971,875
Company: AT&T Inc. (T)
AT&T Inc. is a global provider of telecommunications and technology services. In Mexico, the Latin America segment offers postpaid and prepaid wireless services under the AT&T and Unefon brand names and sells smartphones through its stores, agents, and third-party retail outlets. This segment sells communications services and products under AT&T, Cricket, AT&T PREPAID, and AT&T Fiber. Previously known as SBC Communications Inc., the firm changed its name to AT&T Inc. in 2005. AT&T Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Mr. Luczo has served as the Managing Partner of Crosspoint Capital Partners, L.P. since February 2020. Mr. Luczo served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Seagate Technology plc from 2002 to July 2020 and as a member of the board of directors of Seagate until October 2021. Mr. Luczo joined Seagate’s predecessor firm as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development in 1993, joined its board of directors in 1998, and served as its CEO from 1998 to 2004 and again from 2009 to 2017. Mr. Luczo worked in investment banking before joining Seagate. He graduated from Stanford University with an A.B. in economics and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Opinion: Luczo looks like he is confirming the outsized dividend at 7%. I would be concerned about the sustainability and anemic growth.
Name: David McKinstray
Position: Chief Financial Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-11-13 Shares Bought: 41,715 Average Price Paid: $10.70 Cost: $446,408
Company: WK Kellogg Co (KLG)
Name: Doug VanDeVelde
Position: Chief Growth Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-11-13 Shares Bought: 18,700 Average Price Paid: $10.69 Cost: $199,866
Company: WK Kellogg Co (KLG)
WK Kellogg Co. is a food firm in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. It sells ready-to-eat cereal under the Frosted Flakes, Special K, Froot Loops, Raisin Bran, Frosted Mini-Wheats, and Kashi brands. In March 2023, the corporation changed its name from North America Cereal Co. to WK Kellogg Co. The corporation was founded in 2022 and is headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Dave is a seasoned financial executive with numerous operational Chief Financial Officer responsibilities at Kellogg’s throughout his nearly 15-year tenure. Furthermore, he has extensive expertise in worldwide jobs spanning risk management, treasury, and corporate and financial planning. He provides extensive financial and analytical experience as WK Kellogg Co.’s Chief Financial Officer, having previously served as CFO of the US Snacks business and CFO of US Retail Sales before coming into his present role as Vice President of Integrated Business Planning. He has taken the lead on various key projects at Kellogg. Before joining Kellogg, he worked in commodity risk management and trading.
Doug brings vast and varied experience to the post of Chief Growth Officer of WK Kellogg Co. as the former General Manager of Kellogg’s U.S. Cereal business and one of the industry’s best experts on ready-to-eat cereal. During his over 25-year tenure at Kellogg, he developed strong commercial skills. He held various leadership positions, including Senior Vice President of the global Breakfast Category and Senior Vice President of Marketing and Innovation for U.S. Morning Foods. He is widely regarded within the Kellogg organization for his expertise in the ready-to-eat cereal sector and strategic playbook. His responsibilities as WK Kellogg Co’s Chief Growth Officer include Marketing, R&D, Revenue Growth Management, Insights, and analytics.
Opinion: Spinoffs can offer great investment opportunities. The Market doesn’t feel that way about this one, though.
Name: Scott Wagner
Position: Interim Chief Executive Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-11-16 Shares Bought: 130,743 Average Price Paid: $5.18 Cost: $677,475
Company: GoodRx Holdings Inc. (GDRX)
GoodRx was developed to address the problems customers encounter when understanding, accessing, and financing healthcare. The company began with a prescription price comparison tool, providing consumers free access to lower-cost medication. Today, the company believes that the expanded platform improves the health and financial well-being of American families by providing easy access to price transparency and affordability solutions for generic and brand medications for both consumers and healthcare providers, as well as affordable and convenient medical provider consultations and lab tests, as well as other healthcare and wellness related content. The company sees great growth potential as the company continues to attract new consumers through existing offers, develop new offerings to address additional healthcare consumers’ needs, and enhance healthcare affordability and access for all Americans.
Scott Wagner has been serving as Interim CEO since April 2023. Scott formerly served as GoDaddy’s Chief Executive Officer and President/ Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operating Officer from 2012 until 2019. Scott came to GoDaddy from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, where he was a Partner from 2000 to 2012. Scott now serves on the boards of Bill and DoubleVerify, as well as GoFundMe and Kajabi, both public companies. He also serves on the Yale School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Leadership Council. Scott graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Economics and Harvard Business School with an M.B.A.
Opinion:
Name: Michael Salaman
Position: President
Transaction Date: 2023-11-14 Shares Bought: 430,000 Average Price Paid: $2.29 Cost: $983,105
Company: GrowGeneration Corp. (GRWG)
Name: Darren Lampert
Position: CEO
Transaction Date: 2023-11-13 Shares Bought: 496,000 Average Price Paid: $2.00 Cost: $993,868
Company: GrowGeneration Corp. (GRWG)
GrowGeneration Corp. owns and runs retail hydroponic and organic gardening stores in the United States through its subsidiaries. The company markets and distributes nutrients, growth media, lighting, environmental control systems, vertical benching, hydroponic gardening accessories, and other indoor and outdoor growing items. It has stores in California, Colorado, Michigan, Maine, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, Mississippi, Missouri, Arizona, Rhode Island, Florida, Massachusetts, Virginia, New Jersey, and New Mexico, as well as growgeneration.com, an online superstore for cultivators, and HRG Distribution and MMI. Easylife Corp. was the company’s previous name. GrowGeneration Corp. was founded in Greenwood Village, Colorado in 2008.
Mr. Salaman has been the President and a Director since the beginning. Mr. Salaman was the Chairperson of Skinny Nutritional Corp. from 2002 to 2014, as well as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Skinny Nutritional Corp. from 2010 to 2014. Mr. Salaman has over 20 years of experience in start-ups, innovative product development, distribution, and marketing. From 1985 to 1993, Mr. Salaman was Vice President of Business Development for National Media Corp., an infomercial marketing firm in the United States. Mr. Salaman graduated from Temple University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1986.
Mr. Lampert has served as the CEO and a Director since the founding in 2014. Mr. Lampert began his legal career in 1986 as a founding member of the Lampert & Lampert (1986-1999) law firm, where he focused on securities litigation, NASD (now FINRA) compliance and arbitration, and corporate finance concerns. Lampert has represented clients in proceedings and investigations before government authorities and self-regulatory organizations. Mr. Lampert graduated from Bridgeport University School of Law in 1985 with a J.D. Lampert was admitted to the New York Bar in 1986 and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
Opinion:
Name: Brian N Hansen
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-11-10 Shares Bought: 75,000 Average Price Paid: $2.09 Cost: $157,120
Company: Franklin Street Properties Corp (FSP)
Franklin Street Properties Corp is a Maryland company that operates to qualify for federal income tax treatment as a real estate investment trust or REIT. The firm is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focusing on commercial real estate investments, especially in office markets. It now operates in just one segment: real estate operations. Rental income from real estate leasing, interest income from secured loans issued on office premises, property dispositions, and fee income from asset/property management and development are the primary revenue streams for real estate operations. The firm invests in infill and central business district office assets in the sunbelt and mountain west areas of the United States, as well as in select opportunistic locations. The firm seeks value-oriented investments focusing on long-term growth, appreciation, and present income.
Brian N. Hansen joined the board of directors in 2012 and was appointed Head of the Remuneration Committee in February 2021. Mr. Hansen is the President and Chief Operational Officer of Confluence Investment Management LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser in St. Louis. Mr. Hansen worked as a Managing Director in A.G. Edwards’ Financial Institutions & Real Estate Investment Banking unit before starting Confluence in 2007. Mr. Hansen advised a broad range of real estate investment trusts on multiple capital markets transactions, including public and private offers of debt and equity instruments, as well as the study of different merger and acquisition options while at A.G. Edwards. Mr. Hansen received his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and his Bachelor of Science in Commerce from DePaul University. Mr. Hansen has the designation of Certified Public Accountant.
Opinion:
Follow us on Twitter for real-time insider buying alerts at https://twitter.com/theinsidersfund
You can be an insider, too– by clicking here
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 with any stock market experience 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 of 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, we analyze unusual patterns with selling, 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 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.
This blog is solely for educational purposes and the author’s own amusement. Think of the blog as part of my personal investment journal that I am willing to share with the DIY investor. There are also many parts that I am not willing to share if I think it could influence trading action or be detrimental to the Fund’s partners. We could be long, short, or have no position at all in any of the stocks mentioned and express no written or implied obligation to disclose any of that.
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,
