James Norris reviews directors buying and selling shares in their own company in his weekly column.
- Chief Executive sells SDI Group
- RWS Holdings Chief Executive buys 65k shares
- Inspecs Group directors buying shares
- Non exec buys 25k shares in JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income
- Premier Miton Group Chief Executive acquires 50k shares
SDI Group LON:SDI chief executive Mike Creedon has sold 602,125 shares at 165p, for £993,506, while chairman Kenneth Ford has sold 130,000 shares at the same price for £214,500. SDI, which designs and manufactures digital imaging, sensing and control products, earlier in the week announced the acquisition of Fraser Anti-Static Techniques for £13m, as part of a ‘buy and build’ strategy to acquire businesses with an export focus. At close of trading yesterday, the stock was priced at 159p, a return of -16.4% YTD and -15.9% over 12 months.
RWS Holdings LON:RWS chief executive Ian El-Mokadem has bought 65,000 ordinary shares at a price of 302.8p per share, for £196,824. In March this year, he bought 10,000 shares priced at 335.2p each and in December last year another 5,000 shares at 599p. RWS, a provider of technology-enabled language, content and intellectual property services, saw group revenues in FY22 grow by about 8%, in line with market expectations, putting the company on track to deliver on guidance for revenue growth, margin, capital expenditure and cash conversion, while also maintaining a progressive dividend policy. At close of trading yesterday, the stock was priced at 306p, a return of -52.9% YTD and -50.8% over 12 months.
Inspecs Group LON:SPEC chief executive Robin Totterman last week bought 378,376 ordinary shares at 52.5p each, for £198,647, giving him a 17.5% stake in the group’s issued share capital, while chief financial officer Chris Kay has bought 70,000 shares at 52p, for £36,400, giving him a 2% interest. Yesterday, non-executive director Angela Farrugia bought 20,000 shares at 50.8p each, for £10,160. Inspecs, an eyewear and lens designer company, on Thursday reported a 9.8% uplift in total revenue for the first nine months of the year despite fragile consumer confidence in Europe, particularly Germany and France, and a weakening euro against the dollar. At close of trading yesterday, the stock was priced at 48p, a return of -86.8% YTD and -88.2% over 12 months.
JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income [LON:JAGI] non-executive director Dean Buckley has bought 25,000 shares at 301p, for £75,262.50. Buckley is also chairman of Smith & Williamson Fund Administration and a director at Alliance Trust, Fidelity Special Values and Baillie Gifford. JAGI is an open-ended mutual fund focused on Asia equities ex Japan. Investors in Asia stocks have been spooked by developments in China this year, including fears over the real estate sector, the draconian pandemic lockdowns and rising geopolitical tensions over Taiwan. And when President Xi Jinping asserted his control over the Chinese Communist Party, the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, a gauge of Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong, plunged 7.3% to its cheapest level ever. The fund’s top holdings are Taiwan Semiconductor (9.1%), Tencent (5.8%), Samsung Electronics (5.6%) and Alibaba (4.7%). At close of trading yesterday, the stock was priced at 305.5p, a return of -32.1% YTD and -30.9% over 12 months.
Premier Miton Group LON:PMI chief executive Mike O’Shea has acquired 50,000 shares at 87p, for a total of £43,500. Premier Miton, an asset management company that resulted from the merger of Premier Asset Management and Miton Group, announced last month that it had approached River & Mercantile Group [LON:RIV] about a possible takeover. AssetCo LON:ASTO, another asset management company, has also indicated an interest in R&M. At close of trading yesterday, the stock was priced at 87p, a return of -54.8% YTD and -50.6% over 12 months.
