Insider Trades: 8 ASX 200 directors bought and sold shares last week
One of SiteMinder's first investors sold 90% of his stake last week. Plus notable buys from Soul Patts and GPT Group insiders.
Source: iStock
Mentioned
KEY POINTS
- Soul Patt's Chairman Robert Millner bought $9.4 million worth of shares following strong 2024 results
- GPT CEO Russell Proutt purchased 100,000 shares despite the stock rallying 50% over the past twelve months
- Wisetech founders and Goodman Group CEO Anthony Rozic engaged in their regular share sales
Welcome back to the Insider Trades Series – A weekly summary of on-market ASX 200 director transactions valued at more than $10,000. The trades have all taken place between 27 September and 2 October 2024. Directors have up to 5 business days to notify the ASX of their trades.
Top ASX 200 Insider Buys
Code | Company | Date | Director | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Washington H Soul Pattinson | 27/09/24 | $34.78 | $3,477,454 | ||
Washington H Soul Pattinson | 01/10/24 | $34.78 | $1,390,981 | ||
Washington H Soul Pattinson | 30/09/24 | $34.78 | $1,390,981 | ||
GPT Group | 30/09/24 | $5.05 | $252,500 | ||
GPT Group | 27/09/24 | $5.04 | $252,000 | ||
Washington H Soul Pattinson | 30/09/24 | $34.98 | $97,943 | ||
Fletcher Building | 27/09/24 | $2.58 | $90,125 | ||
Fletcher Building | 2/10/24 | $2.75 | $27,500 | ||
Megaport | 1/10/24 | $7.53 | $22,590 |
Key takeaways:
Soul Patts' Chairman Robert Millner has purchased approximately $9.4 million worth of shares in the company, following the release of its 2024 results. Key highlights include:
Net asset value (pre-tax) growth of 8.7% to $11.8 billion
Net cash flow from investments up 10.3% to $468 million
Total ordinary dividends up 9.2% to 95 cents per share, marking the 24th consecutive year of dividend growth
Private equity lending maintains near 15% yield, with $500 million new opportunities identified
Emerging companies portfolio size grew 68.2%, heavily exposed to energy sector, particularly uranium investments in Canada
Strategies for FY25 include increasing private investments and maintained diversified asset allocation
GPT CEO and Managing Director Russell Proutt purchased a total of 100,000 shares towards the end of September. The real estate sector has benefited significantly from falling bond yields, which have eased borrowing costs and stabilised cap rates and asset valuations. GPT shares have rallied approximately 50% since late October 2023.
Morgan Stanley upgraded GPT to Overweight from Neutral last month, positioning it as "an ideal play for investors wanting low risk exposure to the real estate sector as asset devaluation cycle moderates." Key points from their analysis include:
GPT is their preferred Office exposure, with current rent-paying occupancy at 87% (lowest among peers) but poised for improvement
The company has undergone the most significant cap rate expansion and asset devaluations across Office, Retail, and Industrial segments compared to other large-cap REITs since June 2022
While 2025 earnings growth may be impacted by higher rates due to more expensive hedges, the 3-year cash earnings CAGR is projected at ~5% through 2027
Top ASX 200 Insider Sells
Code | Company | Date | Director | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Siteminder | 30/09/24 | $6.10 | $85,400,000 | ||
Wisetech Global | 02/10/24 | $135.85 | $30,612,167 | ||
Goodman Group | 01/10/24 | $36.75 | $8,781,853 | ||
Goodman Group | 01/10/24 | $36.75 | $5,696,917 | ||
Wisetech Global | 02/10/24 | $135.85 | $2,722,434 | ||
Polynovo | 30/09/24 | $2.62 | $130,915 |
Key takeaways:
SiteMinder's Leslie Szekely, a former Deloitte tax consulting partner, has sold 14 million shares ($85 million) – approximately 90% of his stake. Szekely, who transitioned to angel and venture capital investing after leaving Deloitte in 2008, was an early SiteMinder investor and has supported the company for over 14 years. The stock has experienced a significant re-rating since August, up around 30% to near three-year highs.
