Two executive directors of asset manager Schroders have taken up options and sold most of them for large profits.
Chief executive Michael Dobson took up options over 1,802,033 non-voting shares, of which 906,285 were at nil cost and the rest at prices of 705p, 483p and 398p a share. The total cost of taking up the options was £4.3m. Dobson raised £10.14m from selling 1,061,902 non-voting shares and a further £62,315 from selling 6,095 voting shares at £10.22 each.
Dobson made a £5.84m gain on the non-voting shares disposal and retained 734,036 shares.
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Vice chairman Massimo Tosato took up options over 171,098 non-voting shares and sold them all. These shares did not cost anything so the £1.63m raised in the disposal is pure profit.
The share sales were at significant discounts to the market prices. The non-voting share discount was more than 5% while the voting shares discount was around 18%.
Dobson retains a 1.22% stake in the non-voting shares and 0.51% of the voting shares. Tosato still has a 0.36% stake in the non-voting shares.
Last week, UBS increased its target price for Schroders voting shares from 1410p a share to 1450p a share, while Morgan Stanley upgraded its target price from 1295p a share to 1395p a share.
This followed an interim management statement that showed net inflows of £7bn in the third quarter of 2009. Funds under management increased from £113bn to £139bn in the three months to September 2009.
However, third quarter pre-exceptional profits fell from £71.5m to £57.8m. The comparatives were relatively strong because market conditions deteriorated sharply in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Top Director Buys
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) Director name: Sir Sir Win F W BischoffAmount purchased: 250,000 @ 89.69p Value: £224,225
Record (REC) Director name: Mr Paul SheriffAmount purchased: 92,930 @ 81.00p Value: £75,273
Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) Director name: Mr Jean MattersonAmount purchased: 27,878 @ 139.00p Value: £38,750
National Express Group (NEX) Director name: Mr John F DevaneyAmount purchased: 10,000 @ 340.00p Value: £34,000
Top Director Sells
Schroders NV (SDRC) Director name: Mr Michael W R DobsonAmount sold: 1,061,902 @ 955.00p Value: £10,141,164
Schroders NV (SDRC) Director name: Mr Massimo TosatoAmount sold: 171,098 @ 955.00p Value: £1,633,986
Standard Chartered (STAN) Director name: Mr Peter A SandsAmount sold: 60,000 @ 1,676.40p Value: £1,005,840
Standard Chartered (STAN) Director name: Mr Richard H MeddingsAmount sold: 50,000 @ 1,676.40p Value: £838,200
Standard Chartered (STAN) Director name: Mr Gareth BullockAmount sold: 40,000 @ 1,676.40p Value: £670,560
Schroders NV (SDRC) Director name: Mr Michael W R DobsonAmount sold: 6,095 @ 1,022.40p Value: £62,315
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