Insiders Spent Millions on These 3 Stocks Over the Past 2 Months

Key Points

• Board of Directors members, chairpersons, and Chief Executive Officers are buying into the company that they serve big time.
• An insider worth watching has seen the shares of his company outperform significantly since making purchases.
• The new Chief Executive Officer of the world's largest healthcare provider stock bought $25 million worth of shares.

Since early May, insider buying activity has surged at three major companies. Together, top executives and influential insiders have invested more than $170 million of their own money, sending a strong signal of confidence in the future of these stocks.

Here’s a closer look at the three companies attracting serious insider attention.

Board Chairman Signs +$55 Million Check for BLDR Shares

Since the first week of May, multiple directors have made purchases of shares in Builders FirstSource NYSE: BLDR, according to MarketBeat data. The most substantial purchases come from Paul S. Levy, who bought approximately $55.4 million worth of shares on May 8. Notably, Levy holds what many consider the most important role in a firm’s corporate governance structure.

Levy is the Chairman of Builders FirstSource’s Board of Directors (BOD). He leads the BOD, which oversees the company and evaluates the performance of managers like the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Thus, this isn’t just any insider purchasing big into the company, but rather one that checks the power of its most important executives.

Since Levy’s purchase, shares of BLDR are up around 20%. A general recovery in the market has driven much of this. But, that return still exceeds the S&P 500’s 11% gain over the period. Levy’s high-ranking position and this performance suggest it may be worth paying attention to when he buys in again.

Former CEO Who Led UNH’s Outperformance Spends $25 Million Upon Return

Another name that has been the fancy of directors over the past months is UnitedHealth Group NYSE: UNH. Again, the biggest purchase comes from someone who is one of the most influential people at UNH. That is Stephen J Hemsley, who bought approximately $25 million worth of shares on May 16.

Hemsley is now indisputably the most powerful person at UNH, acting as both the CEO and the chairman of the Board of Directors. 

This means that Hemsley not only runs UNH's day-to-day operations but also leads the group that evaluates his own performance.

Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Hemsley’s $25 million purchase comes just three days after the company appointed him as the new CEO. This is a clear sign that Hemsley is betting on himself. He believes that the healthcare giant will thrive under his leadership and that shares will appreciate. He certainly has a proven track record.

Hemsley was the UNH CEO from December 1, 2006, to September 1, 2017. Under his leadership, shares of UNH provided a total return of 360%. This far outpaced the 121% return of the S&P 500 Index and the 195% return of the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund NYSEARCA: XLV.

Note that Patrick Hugh Conway, who sold 589 shares on June 10, is the CEO of UNH’s subsidiary, Optum.

Activist Investor Increases Stake, Looks to Turn MIDD Around

Last up is Middleby NASDAQ: MIDD. Middleby makes a wide variety of equipment used in foodservice, including conveyor ovens, ranges, and refrigeration systems. Some of the world’s biggest restaurant companies are customers.

Director Edward P. Garden notably spent millions buying Middleby stock from May 9 to May 21. 

Overall, Garden’s purchases of Middleby exceeded $93 million over that period. Garden isn’t as powerful as the other two insider purchases discussed in detail above, but he holds an important position as a member of Middleby’s BOD.

Garden is working to exert significant influence on Middleby. Garden’s investment company, Garden Investment Management, owned an approximately 5% stake in Middleby as of March 31. With these recent purchases, that figure has moved up to approximately 6%.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Garden wants to center the company’s focus on its commercial foodservice segment. It appears Garden is having the influence it sought.

Middleby announced its intent to spin off its food processing business on the same day it named Garden to the BOD. Still, markets don’t appear to be overly excited about the spin-off news. Shares of Middleby are down 12% since the announcement.

It will likely take some time to see if Garden’s influence will change Middleby’s middling performance, with shares up just 17% in the past three years.

Overall, these investors are signaling confidence in BLDR, UNH, and MIDD shares going forward. Hemsley’s $25 million purchases stand out, given the stock’s success under his previous tenure.