Director dealings w/e 5 August: what company insiders are buying and selling

Directors’ share dealings can often give investors an insight into the sentiment of company insiders. Here are some of the biggest deals by company directors for the week ending 5 August.

Darktrace
Darktrace's CEO Poppy Gustafsson bought just over £2.6m shares of the cyber-security firm's shares.
(Image credit: © Getty)

Company directors usually know more about the businesses they work for than regular investors, which is why it can be a good idea to keep an eye on director share deals. In fact, you could argue directors know the state of their business better than anyone.

Therefore, an insider’s decision to buy or sell a security could be a notable development, although these transactions should never be taken as gospel.

There are many reasons why directors might want to buy and sell shares. Some are completely unrelated to business performance. For example, a director might have to sell stock to meet a divorce settlement.

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As it is illegal to trade on inside information, it is not likely a director will buy or sell a stock ahead of a major material announcement. However, a series of transactions by one or more directors can be a strong indication of insider sentiment.

This list is not exhaustive. It excludes any deals with a value of less than £1,000, shares bought as part of a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP), and option exercises. These transactions should only be used as a starting point for further research.

Director buys for the week ending 5 August 2022

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DateCompanyDirectorValueNo. SharesTotal held %
05 AugPremier Miton Group PLCMichael O'Shea£1,8871,6002.41
05 AugPremier Miton Group PLCMichael O'Shea£12,80411,0002.42
05 AugPremier Miton Group PLCMichael O'Shea£2,4442,1002.41
05 AugFerrexpo PLCFiona MacAulay£4,9743,5360
05 AugLsl Property Services PLCDavid Stewart£24,7507,8200.02
05 AugDarktrace PLCPoppy Gustafsson£2,619,990727,7750.47
05 AugDarktrace PLCCatherine Graham£1,954,372542,8810.12
04 AugRobert Walters PLCMatthew Ashley£49,9789,6670.01
04 AugRobert Walters PLCSteven Cooper£5,1001,0000.01
04 AugTeam PLCJonathan Clubb£1,4492,50021.39
04 AugTeam PLCJonathan Clubb£1,4462,50021.41
03 AugGames Workshop Group PLCKevin Rountree£208,4962,7290.04
03 AugGames Workshop Group PLCRachel Tongue£139,7051,8310.03
03 AugPlaytech PLCMor Weizer£266,23354,5000.11
03 AugPlaytech PLCAndrew Smith£96,18719,6300.03
03 AugXp Power LimitedJames Pike£36,4881,4170.02
03 AugXp Power LimitedJames Pike£62,7042,4210.01
02 AugIntertek Group PLCGraham Allan£25,4406000
02 AugIntertek Group PLCGraham Allan£59,5001,4000
02 AugLatham (James) PLCDavid Dunmow£5,4014010.7
02 AugLatham (James) PLCPiers Latham£5,4014013.2
02 AugKerry Group PLCChristopher Rogers£102,9001,0000
02 AugAltitude Group PLCGraham Feltham£5,00020,5840.11
02 AugSdx Energy PLCMark Reid£4,97050,0000.44
02 AugSdx Energy PLCMark Reid£15,375150,0000.41
02 AugIntegrated Diagnostics Holdings PlcHend El Sherbini£4,0255,0006.81
01 AugAirtel Africa PLCJohn Danilovich£98,64762,0000.01
01 AugMj Gleeson PLCChristopher Mills£2,575,000500,00011.24
01 AugQuadrise Fuels International PLCAndrew Morrison£10,377700,0000.05
01 AugNational Express Group PLCCarolyn Flowers£22,50010,0000
01 AugAlfa Financial Software Holdings PLCChristopher Sullivan£99,49866,3320.05
01 AugAlfa Financial Software Holdings PLCChristopher Sullivan£138,66893,3170.03

*Acquired via a placing

Alfa Financial Software’s (LSE: ALFA) non-executive director, Christopher Sullivan splashed out on the software company’s stock last week, spending over £200k to build his stake. The NED’s buying came just a few days after the firm reported that trading in the first half was inline with expectations and a growing number of subscriptions is helping drive top line growth.

Steven Cooper, a non-executive director of Robert Walters (LSE: RWA) and Charlotte Ashley (spouse of fellow NED Matt Ashley) both increased their stakes in the recruiter after it published a robust set of figures for the first half of its financial year. With the market for talent showing no signs of slowing down, companies are paying big bucks to get new staff onboard and recruiters like Robert Walters are reaping the benefits.

CEO of asset manager Premier Miton (LSE: PMI), Mike O'Shea added to his stake in the company to the tune of 14,700 shares last week. The CEO bought the holding across several transactions as shares in the company only trade a handful of times a day.

Director sells for the week ending 5 August 2022

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DateCompanyDirectorValueTotal held %
04 AugStanley Gibbons Group PLCGraham Shircore£10,5860
04 AugStanley Gibbons Group PLCHenry Wilson£30,0000
03 AugPlaytech PLCAndrew Smith£414,2760.02
01 AugErgomed PLCRichard Barfield£292,5000.05

Playtech’s (LSE: PTEC) CFO and CEO both appear to have been selling their shares in the business last week, but these numbers don't tell the whole story.

According to the company, both directors purchased shares in “accordance with the requirements of the company's remuneration policy, under which a proportion of the annual bonus is deferred into shares for two years.”

However, both directors then went on to sell a portion of their holdings to satisfy tax demands on the awards as well as other “family reasons.”

Source: https://www.youinvest.co.uk/markets/directorsdeals

See also:

Britain’s most-bought shares

Rupert Hargreaves

Rupert was the former Deputy Digital Editor of MoneyWeek. He's an active investor and has always been fascinated by the world of business and investing. 

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