How long can the Trump stock market honeymoon go on? Of course no one knows the answer to that. Anyone who thinks they do is self delusional at best or a charlatan at worst.
Name: Jeffrey C Campbell
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-12-04 Shares Bought: 6,000 Average Price Paid: $149.61 Cost: $897,644
Company: Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC)
MPC has over 135 years of experience in the energy industry and is a leading integrated downstream energy firm. The company is a major wholesale supplier of gasoline and distillates to resellers in the United States. The company transports refined products via one of the largest terminal operations in the United States and one of the largest private domestic fleets of inland petroleum product barges. Furthermore, the integrated midstream energy asset network connects natural gas and NGL producers in some of the United States’ largest supply basins to domestic and international markets. The company has two reportable operating segments: refining and marketing and midstream. Each of these parts is categorized and controlled according to the nature of the items.
Mr. Campbell is a former vice chairman of the board and chief financial officer at American Express Company since November 2024. Mr. Campbell joined American Express Company, a worldwide payments company, in 2013. Before joining American Express, Mr. Campbell was the chief financial officer of McKesson Corporation, a pioneer in integrated healthcare services. Before joining McKesson, Mr. Campbell worked as a certified public accountant and management consultant for Deloitte, Haskins & Sells. Mr. Campbell earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University. Mr. Campbell is on the boards of directors for Aon plc, Hexcel Corporation, and The Juilliard School.
Opinion:
Name: John H Stone
Position: President and CEO
Transaction Date: 2024-12-03 Shares Bought: 7,500 Average Price Paid: $140.70 Cost: $1,055,246
Company: Allegion plc (ALLE)
Allegion plc is a major global provider of security products and solutions that protect people and assets where they live, learn, work, and connect. The company provides peace of mind by pioneering safety and security to provide smooth access and a safer world. Partnering and growing ecosystems is key to the mission, as it allows for a faultless experience and the uninterrupted and secure flow of people and things. The company provides a comprehensive and varied spectrum of security and access control systems and solutions from several market-leading companies.
John Stone has been Allegion’s president and CEO since July 2022, as well as a member of the Board of Directors. Before becoming CEO of Allegion, John was president of Deere & Company’s Worldwide Construction, Forestry, and Power Systems division. As former head of Deere & Company’s Intelligent Solutions Group. John holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the United States Military Academy and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Opinion:
Name: Gary L Hinkle
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-11-15 Shares Bought: 5,200 Average Price Paid: $68.54 Cost: $356,428
Company: Burke & Herbert Financial Services Corp. (BHRB)
Burke & Herbert Financial Services Corp. was formed as a Virginia corporation in 2022 as the holding company for Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Company. The Company began operations as a bank holding company on October 1, 2022, following a reorganization deal that saw it become the Bank’s holding company. This transaction was classified as an internal reorganization because all shareholders of the Bank became shareholders of the Company. The company has no material operations and 100% ownership of the bank. The Bank is a Virginia-chartered commercial bank that began operations in 1852. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation supervises and regulates the bank, as does the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Financial Institutions.
Gary L. Hinkle has been a director since 1993. He is the current President of Hinkle Trucking, Inc., Dettinburn Transport, Inc., Mt. Storm Fuel Inc., and H. T. Services, Inc. He has over 35 years of experience owning and operating his businesses. Gary L. Hinkle, a director of Burke & Herbert Financial Services Corp., has lately boosted his investment in the firm by purchasing extra shares. The Company values Mr. Hinkle’s business experience and entrepreneurial skills.
Opinion:
Name: Kevin Joseph Howard
Position: EVP, Chief Wholesale Bank. Off
Transaction Date: 2024-11-27 Shares Bought: 7,500 Average Price Paid: $58.00 Cost: $435,000
Company: Synovus Financial Corp (SNV)
Synovus Financial Corp. is a financial services and registered bank holding company based in Columbus, Georgia. The company offers the clients commercial and consumer banking, as well as a full range of specialized products and services such as private banking, treasury management, wealth management, mortgage services, premium finance, asset-based lending, structured lending, capital markets, and international banking, through the wholly-owned subsidiary bank, Synovus Bank, and other offices in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Howard began his career at Synovus in 1993 when he became Vice President at Columbus Bank and Trust. In 2000, he was elevated to Senior Vice President of Commercial, Correspondent, and Affiliate Lending. He was appointed Senior Vice President of Credit in 2005. In 2006, he took over the initiative of developing Synovus’ Commercial and Industrial Lending Strategy. Howard was appointed Chief Credit Officer in 2008, and Chief Wholesale Officer in 2019.
Opinion:
Name: Harry M. Conger IV
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-11-27 Shares Bought: 9,498 Average Price Paid: $42.15 Cost: $400,335
Company: Newmont Corp (NEM)
Newmont is the world’s largest gold producer and produces copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The Company’s world-class portfolio of assets, prospects, and talent is based in favorable mining countries such as Africa, Australia, Latin America the Caribbean, North America, and Papua New Guinea. Newmont is the only gold miner listed on the S&P 500 Index, and it is well-known for its ethical environmental, social, and governance standards. The company is an industry leader in value generation, with strong safety standards, exceptional execution, and technical competence. Newmont was established in 1921 and has been publicly traded since 1925.
Harry M. Conger, IV joins Newmont’s Board with considerable executive and operational mining experience. From September 2022 to October 2023, Mr. Conger was President and Chief Operating Officer of Teck Resources, as well as a Director on the Board. He joined Teck in September 2020 as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Conger has also served as Chair of the New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry, Commissioner of the New Mexico Mining Commission, and Director of the Arizona Mining Association. He has a Bachelor of Science in mining engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. Mr. Conger joined the Board in late June 2024 and now serves on the Safety and Sustainability Committee.
Opinion:
Name: Leslie A Moriyama
Position: Chief Financial Officer
Transaction Date: 2024-12-03 Shares Bought: 12,050 Average Price Paid: $34.41 Cost: $414,640
Company: Dorchester Minerals L.P. (DMLP)
Name: Bradley J Ehrman
Position: Chief Executive Officer
Transaction Date: 2024-12-03 Shares Bought: 14,430 Average Price Paid: $34.41 Cost: $496,536
Company: Dorchester Minerals L.P. (DMLP)
Dorchester Minerals, L.P. acquires, owns, and administers royalty properties in the United States. Its royalty properties include producing and nonproducing mineral, royalty, overriding royalty, net profits, and leasehold interests in 593 counties and parishes across 28 states, while net profits interests are net profits overriding royalty interests in various properties owned by the operating partnership. Dorchester Minerals Management LP is the general partner of Dorchester Minerals, L.P. The company was created in 1982 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Leslie Ann Moriyama has been the Chief Financial Officer for Dorchester Minerals since May 2015. She was a Director of Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Leslie Ann attended the University of Calgary. Financial experience includes oil and gas acquisitions and divestitures, corporate and upstream business unit finance leadership roles, strategic planning, Big 4 public accounting, SEC and audit, capital markets, and corporate governance functions such as cyber and IT, insurance and risk management, and internal controls. The majority of my career has been spent working for large multinational organizations. Responsible for overseeing all financial, accounting, information technology, risk management, human resources, and office services responsibilities.
Bradley J. Ehrman has been the Chief Executive Officer at Dorchester Minerals LP since October 2022. Mr. Ehrman was previously the Vice President of Operations at Dorchester Minerals Operating LP. Dorchester Minerals LP acquires, owns, and administers producing and non producing natural gas and crude oil royalties, as well as overriding royalties, net profits, and leasehold interests in assets. Mr. Ehrman earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Alberta and an MBA from Rice University.
Opinion:
Name: Kenneth J. Kencel
Position: CEO & President
Transaction Date: 2024-12-02 Shares Bought: 20,000 Average Price Paid: $17.37 Cost: $347,370
Company: Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NCDL)
Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. is a specialized finance firm that specializes in senior secured loans to middle market companies in the United States that are owned by private equity firms. The company invests in directly originated senior secured loans, which typically pay floating interest rates. The company is senior in the capital structure to junior debt and equity because it believes it provides better risk-adjusted returns and stronger protections than investments in traditional public debt capital markets.
Ken has been the President and CEO of Churchill Asset Management, since April 2015. He also serves as Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. and Nuveen Churchill Private Capital Income Fund, two of Churchill’s publicly traded business development companies. Ken holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgetown University and a Juris Doctorate from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law. He is a member of the Archdiocese of New York’s Pension Investment Advisory Committee, the Canisius High School Board of Trustees, and the Investment Committee Chairman.
Opinion:
Name: Leon O Moulder Jr
Position: Chief Executive Officer
Transaction Date: 2024-12-03 Shares Bought: 70,000 Average Price Paid: $10.26 Cost: $718,100
Company: Zenas BioPharma Inc. (ZBIO)
Zenas BioPharma, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm, develops and commercializes breakthrough immunology-based treatments. Obexelimab, a bifunctional monoclonal antibody, is the company’s flagship product candidate. It is used to treat immunoglobulin G4-related illness, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Zenas BioPharma, Inc. was previously known as Zenas BioPharma (Cayman) Limited before changing its name to Zenas BioPharma, Inc. in August 2023. The company was established in 2019 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.
The Company founder, Lonnie Moulder, has been the CEO since August 2023 and chairman and member of the board of directors since 202. Mr. Moulder has also served as the managing member of Tellus Bio Ventures, LLC, an early-stage life sciences investment fund. Previously served as president, CEO, and vice chairman of Eisai Corporation of North America after Eisai acquired MGI PHARMA, where he was president and CEO. Mr. Moulder holds a pharmacy degree from Temple University and an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.
Opinion:
Name: Kenneth M. Parent
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-12-02 Shares Bought: 62,735 Average Price Paid: $8.07 Cost: $506,271
Company: Westrock Coffee Co. (WEST)
Westrock Coffee Company, a Delaware corporation, is a leading integrated coffee, tea, flavors, extracts, and ingredients solutions provider in the United States. The company provides coffee sourcing, supply chain management, product development, roasting, packaging, and distribution services to retail, food service, restaurants, convenience stores and travel centers, non-commercial accounts, consumer packaged goods, and hospitality industries worldwide. We aim to create and efficiently operate the world’s leading integrated coffee, tea, flavors, extracts, and ingredients solutions provider to the world’s most recognizable brands. The company does this to enable smallholder farmers and their families in developing nations to improve their standard of living and economic well-being.
Ken Parent is presently the Vice Chairman and Head of Strategic Communications for the National Association of Convenience Stores. He has also been the Vice Chairman of Westrock Coffee Co. since 2024. In addition, he has been an Independent Director of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc., since 2011. Previously, Mr. Parent was Senior Vice President-Operations at Pilot Corp. From 2001 to 2014, he served as SVP-Operations, Marketing, and Human Resources for Pilot Travel Centers LLC. Mr. Parent earned his undergraduate and MBA degrees from San Diego State University. Mr. Parent also sits on the boards of BJ’s Wholesale Club and Hollywood Feed. Mr. Parent earned a Master of Business Administration and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from San Diego State University.
Opinion:
Name: Leslie C.G. Campbell
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-12-04 Shares Bought: 60,000 Average Price Paid: $5.41 Cost: $324,636
Company: Petmed Express Inc (PETS)
PetMeds has been an internet retail pioneer since 1996, providing a reliable source for pet medications throughout North America. The brands work together to bring high-quality wellness goods from innovative sources, making it easier for families to address preventive and chronic health requirements and promote the longevity of their companion animals. The company is profoundly committed to the goal and purpose that have propelled the firm since its inception. To honor the united legacy, it brings the basic beliefs to every task the company takes on. The company’s major purpose is to empower pet families so they can give the finest care for their dogs, cats, and horses, allowing them to enjoy long, healthy lives.
Ms. Campbell has been a member of the Board of Directors since July 2018 and Chair of the Board since January 2024. Ms. Campbell was a member of the Compensation and Human Capital Committee. Ms. Campbell is an experienced public board director and former global executive with multi-disciplinary expertise, a track record of global leadership, and success in developing strategies that improve the performance of entrepreneurial startups and multinational corporations with multibillion-dollar market capitalizations. Ms. Campbell earned a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Washington.
Opinion:
Name: Robert J Mylod Jr.
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-11-27 Shares Bought: 50,000 Average Price Paid: $5.23 Cost: $261,730
Company: Vroom Inc. (VRM)
Vroom, Inc., founded under the laws of the State of Delaware in 2012, is a holding company that operates through subsidiaries. It completed its initial public offering in June 2020, and its common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol VRM. Vroom’s e-commerce site featured hundreds of thoroughly inspected vehicles. The platform provided detailed and clear information on each vehicle the company sold, as well as a personalized, user-friendly interface with sorting, searching, and filtering capabilities.
Robert J. Mylod, Jr. has been a member of the Board of Directors since September 2015, and Independent Executive Chair since May 2022. Mr. Mylod is Managing Partner at Annox Capital Management, a private investment firm he formed in 2013. Mr. Mylod also serves on the board of directors and audit committee of Redfin Corporation, an online real estate company. He also serves on the board of directors for various private enterprises. Mr. Mylod has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Michigan and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago’s Booth School.
Opinion:
Name: M Grier Eliasek
Position: Chief Operating Officer
Transaction Date: 2024-11-27 Shares Bought: 210,000 Average Price Paid: $4.79 Cost: $1,005,858
Company: Prospect Capital Corp (PSEC)
Prospect is a financial services firm that primarily lends to and invests in middle-market privately held businesses. The closed-end investing corporation is based in Maryland. The investment goal is to generate current income and long-term capital appreciation through debt and equity assets. The company’s primary investments are in senior and subordinated secured debt and equity of private companies seeking cash for acquisitions, divestitures, growth, development, recapitalizations, and other objectives. The organization collaborates with management teams or financial sponsors to secure investments using historical cash flows, asset collateral, or contracted pro-forma cash flows.
Mr. Eliasek has been the President and Chief Operating Officer of Prospect Capital Corporation since February 2004, as well as Managing Director of Prospect Capital Management and Prospect Administration. In addition, he serves on the Prospect Capital Corporation Board of Directors. Before joining Prospect, Mr. Eliasek worked as a consultant for Bain & Company, a worldwide strategy consulting firm, where he oversaw engagements for organizations across multiple industries. Mr. Eliasek worked at Bain, where he explored new business lines, developed market strategies, restructured sales groups, and enhanced operational performance. Mr. Eliasek obtained his MBA from Harvard Business School. Mr. Eliasek earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering with the Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia, where he was a Jefferson Scholar and Rodman Scholar.
Opinion:
Name: Mark F. Bailey Sr.
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2024-11-05 Shares Bought: 184,112 Average Price Paid: $4.28 Cost: $787,999
Company: Zoomcar Holdings Inc. (ZCAR)
Zoomcar’s mission is to transform the urban mobility landscape in emerging market countries by connecting individuals with short and medium-term transportation needs with vehicle owners through the convenience of the scalable digital platform designed to provide persons seeking short-term vehicle use with personalized travel solutions while also providing entrepreneurial opportunities for vehicle owners to financially benefit from sharing their car within their community. The company believes the business model is especially well-suited to emerging economies due to the mobility issues that urban inhabitants confront in these places. Zoomcar serves the Indian market, where car ownership prices can be prohibitively expensive relative to average personal income levels, with less than 10% of people owning a car.
Mr. Mark Bailey has been a director of the company since June 2024. Mr. Bailey graduated from Vanderbilt University and has been in the insurance sector for almost 35 years. Mr. Bailey is actively involved in leadership and service projects for a variety of organizations, including the Community Hospice & Palliative Care Foundation, Flagler Healthcare Foundation, St. Augustine Foundation, Flagler College, Ameris Bank Advisory Board, YMCA of Florida’s First Coast, Lightner Museum, and St. Augustine Rotary Club. Mark has already received the coveted Gus Craig Award for his community philanthropy. In 2016, the Association of Fundraising Professionals Florida First Coast Chapter named Mark and his wife, Alecia, the Outstanding Small Business.
Opinion:
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This blog is solely for educational purposes and the author’s own amusement. IT IS NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE. 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.
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 as soon as practically possible. 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. When I have time, over the weekend, I’ll add some preliminary analysis to the Opinion at the end. Sometimes I won’t update this for a couple of weeks or more. A good way to use this blog is as I do, it’s a reference point and filing cabinet for various stocks with notable insider buying. It’s one of many tools I use. I regularly live on Chat GPT and Microsoft Copilot now. I find the footnotes research very helpful in eliminating errors from AI hallucinations.
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,
