High-Profile Tech Executives Set the Pace for Insider Stock Selling This Week

July 26, 2014 by Lee Jackson

social media networkWhen the stock market continues to make new highs over and over, one can certainly expect to see corporate insiders showing up on the insider selling lists. This week is no exception as many top executives are taking advantage of windows to sell and thinning out some of their holdings.

We screen the lists of insider selling each week at 24/7 Wall Street, and look for the high-profile names that some of our readers may own in their portfolios. While insider selling is not necessarily a bad thing, especially when stocks are at all-time highs, it make sense to follow what top employees are doing.

Here are the top insider sells for this week.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) posted out-of-this-world earnings this week, and the chief financial officer (CFO) of the company took advantage of the stock trading near all-time highs. Sheryl Sandberg sold 283,334 shares at prices between $69.16 and $69.73. The sale netted Sandberg, who is one of the wealthiest women in America, some $19,676,000. Facebook moved even higher after earnings were reported, and shares were trading at Friday’s close at $75.19.

ALSO READ: Key Stocks Seeing Insider Buying This Week

LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) has been a favorite Internet stock of the momentum crowd. The chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, Jeff Weiner, sold 110,794 shares of the stock at $175.16. The total gross proceeds amounted to a very nice $19,406,832. Shares were trading at week’s end at $177.44.

Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) saw some selling from the man whose name is on the door. The founder of the discount brokerage powerhouse, Charles Schwab, sold a whopping 720,000 shares at prices listed between $27.55 and $27.73. The sell brought home almost $20 million. This was posted as a sale and an option exercise. Shares of the stock traded at $27.50 at Friday’s close.

CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) saw the CEO and a senior vice president of the company selling stock this week. The pair sold a total of 213,000 shares of the railroad between $30.90 and $31.02 for a total of almost $6.6 million. The stock closed Friday at $31.00.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) is another high-profile transport sector stock that saw some heavy insider selling this week. The chief operating officer (COO) of the company sold 37,724 shares of the stock at $77.66. The sale brought in close to $2 million. Shares ended Friday at $79.23.

Rex American Resources Corp. (NYSE: REX) saw its CEO sell stock for the third week running. Stuart Rose parted with 30,000 more shares at $88.05 for a total gross amount near $2.6 million. The stock traded as low as $83.62 on Friday. So a well-timed sale to say the least.

ALSO READ: The 5 Most Heavily Shorted Nasdaq Stocks

Clearly some of these well-known, high-profile executives were thinning what is probably still a very large herd, and that is certainly to be expected with the stock market at record highs.

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