A quartet of directors from Ashtead Group (AHT) parted with nearly £400,000 in aggregate to bolster their holdings on the same day the equipment rental group released a largely respectable set of third-quarter numbers. Chief executive Geoff Drabble and senior non-executive Ian Sutcliffe accounted for the lion's share of the purchases, which were struck at an average 17 per cent discount to Ashtead's 200-day moving average share price.
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The market responded positively to the Q3 numbers, although whether the directors' foray into the market was a contributory factor is anyone's guess. What we do know is that Ashtead's valuation has struggled in the face of increased anxieties over the state of the US economy, and confirmation that the group plans a substantive reduction in capital outlay certainly feeds into this narrative. Although reported profits were a fifth higher than a year earlier, the rate of growth slowed through the third quarter, further stoking anxieties.
| Buys | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Ashtead | Michael Burrow | 01 Mar 16 | 2,500 | 793 | 19,825 | 22,500 | 0.004 |
| Ashtead | Chris Cole (ch) | 01 Mar 16 | 3,000 | 844.97 | 25,349 | 135,082 | 0.024 |
| Ashtead | Ian Sutcliffe | 01 Mar 16 | 12,250 | 810 | 99,225 | 24,500 | 0.004 |
| Ashtead | Geoff Drabble (ce) | 01 Mar 16 | 30,862 | 804 | 248,130 | 1,334,159 | 0.241 |
| British Land Co | William Jackson | 01 Mar 16 | 75,000 | 668.5342 | 501,401 | 120,304 | 0.012 |
| Countrywide | Peter Long | 25 Feb 16 | 200,000 | 348.875 | 697,750 | 200,000 | 0.091 |
| Deltex Medical* | Jonathan Shaw (fd) | 26 Feb 16 | 125,000 | 4 | 5,000 | 125,000 | 0.048 |
| Deltex Medical* | Nigel Keen (ch) | 26 Feb 16 | 12,500,000 | 4 | 500,000 | 21,222,524 | 8.221 |
| Electra Private Equity | Edward Bramson | 25 Feb 16 | 5,000 | 3318 | 165,900 | 11,374,772 | 28.176 |
| Galliford Try | Ishbel Macpherson | 25 Feb 16 | 2,125 | 1412 | 30,005 | 2,125 | 0.003 |
| Greka Engineering & Technology | Randeep Grewal (ch, ceo) | 26 Feb 16 | 47,189,723 | 0.385 | 181,680 | 312,125,606 | 76.198 |
| Hays♥ | Alan Thomson (ch) | 25 Feb 16 | 50,000 | 115.7 | 57,850 | 250,000 | 0.017 |
| Intu Properties | John Strachan | 01 Mar 16 | 30,000 | 302.6 | 90,780 | 30,000 | 0.002 |
| Jarvis Securities | Jolyon Head (fd) | 25 Feb 16 | 10,000 | 335 | 33,500 | 23,271 | 0.212 |
| JPMorgan Emerging Markets Inv Trust | Anatole Kaletsky | 25 Feb 16 | 1,910 | 521 | 9,951 | 6,953 | 0.005 |
| JPMorgan Emerging Markets Inv Trust | Anatole Kaletsky | 02 Mar 16 | 8,090 | 552 | 44,657 | 10,000 | 0.008 |
| Kainos | Andrew Malpass | 29 Feb 16 | 11,000 | 197.1 | 21,681 | 38,590 | 0.033 |
| Lancashire Holdings | Peter Clarke | 01 Mar 16 | 14,000 | 551.72 | 77,241 | 14,000 | 0.007 |
| Lancashire Holdings | Alex Maloney (ceo) | 01 Mar 16 | 44,553 | 560 | 249,497 | 426,561 | 0.214 |
| Lloyds Banking | Nick Prettejohn | 26 Feb 16 | 69,280 | 72.17 | 49,999 | 69,280 | 0.000 |
| Minds + Machines | Michael Salazar (cfo) | 25 Feb 16 | 245,000 | 9 | 22,050 | 1,875,050 | 0.248 |
| Minds + Machines | Guy Elliott (ch) | 25 Feb 16 | 620,000 | 9 | 55,800 | 22,500,000 | 2.974 |
| Oxford BioMedica* | Paul Blake | 25 Feb 16 | 158,730 | 6.3 | 10,000 | 2,783,289 | 0.103 |
| Oxford BioMedica* | Peter Nolan | 25 Feb 16 | 158,730 | 6.3 | 10,000 | 1,042,043 | 0.039 |
| Oxford BioMedica* | John Dawson (ceo) | 25 Feb 16 | 476,190 | 6.3 | 30,000 | 3,259,019 | 0.121 |
| Oxford BioMedica* | Tim Watts (cfo) | 25 Feb 16 | 476,190 | 6.3 | 30,000 | 6,395,124 | 0.237 |
| Pearson | Coram Williams (cfo) | 29 Feb 16 | 5,000 | 836 | 41,800 | 5,010 | 0.001 |
| President Energy♥ | Peter Levine (ch, ceo) | 01 Mar 16 | 4,000,000 | 5 | 200,000 | 121,834,586 | 23.192 |
| Regus | Dominik de Daniel (cfo) | 01 Mar 16 | 151,112 | 294 | 444,269 | 151,112 | 0.016 |
| River and Mercantile♥ | Paul Bradshaw (ch) | 01 Mar 16 | 10,852 | 230 | 24,960 | 35,184 | 0.043 |
| River and Mercantile♥ | Paul Bradshaw (ch) | 01 Mar 16 | 10,852 | 230 | 24,960 | 46,036 | 0.056 |
| River and Mercantile♥ | Paul Bradshaw (ch) | 01 Mar 16 | 10,671 | 234 | 24,970 | 24,332 | 0.030 |
| River and Mercantile | Kevin Hayes (cfo) | 01 Mar 16 | 44,933 | 221 | 99,302 | 252,865 | 0.308 |
| Royal Bank of Scotland (The) | Sir Howard Davies (ch) | 29 Feb 16 | 40,000 | 222.1 | 88,840 | 41,000 | 0.000 |
| Royal Bank of Scotland (The) | Ross McEwan (ceo) | 29 Feb 16 | 200,000 | 223 | 446,000 | 1,174,781 | 0.010 |
| Royal Bank of Scotland (The) | Ewen Stevenson (cfo) | 29 Feb 16 | 200,000 | 223.2 | 446,400 | 477,300 | 0.004 |
| RSA Insurance | Johanna Waterous | 26 Feb 16 | 5,650 | 435.4 | 24,600 | 18,069 | 0.002 |
| Segro | Christopher Fisher | 25 Feb 16 | 5,000 | 419.7 | 20,985 | 15,842 | 0.002 |
| Serco | Sir Roy Gardner (ch) | 26 Feb 16 | 20,000 | 95.6766 | 19,135 | 45,000 | 0.004 |
| Spirent Communications | Eric Hutchinson (ceo) | 26 Feb 16 | 58,787 | 84.5 | 49,675 | 1,723,764 | 0.282 |
| Spirent Communications | Alex Walker (ch) | 26 Feb 16 | 60,365 | 82.4389 | 49,764 | 331,324 | 0.054 |
| Spirent Communications | Eric Hutchinson (ceo) | 26 Feb 16 | 297,464 | 83.6 | 248,680 | 1,664,977 | 0.272 |
| STV | Christian Woolfenden | 01 Mar 16 | 9,092 | 439.93 | 39,998 | 9,092 | 0.023 |
| Synectics | Paul Webb (ceo) | 02 Mar 16 | 10,000 | 120 | 12,000 | 10,000 | 0.056 |
| Synectics | Michael Butler | 02 Mar 16 | 25,000 | 120 | 30,000 | 25,000 | 0.140 |
| Synectics♥ | Dennis Bate | 02 Mar 16 | 50,000 | 120 | 60,000 | 196,000 | 1.101 |
| Tern* | Angus Forrest (ch) | 25 Feb 16 | 83,333 | 12 | 10,000 | 6,359,602 | 8.842 |
| Tristel | Paul Swinney (ce) | 25 Feb 16 | 5,000 | 94 | 4,700 | 925,000 | 2.194 |
| Tristel | Elizabeth Dixon (fd) | 25 Feb 16 | 5,000 | 96 | 4,800 | 55,000 | 0.130 |
| Tristel | Francisco Soler (ch) | 02 Mar 16 | 10,000 | 109.8 | 10,980 | 10,834,988 | 25.697 |
| Tristel | Francisco Soler (ch) | 01 Mar 16 | 26,762 | 109.9 | 29,411 | 10,824,988 | 25.673 |
| Tristel | Francisco Soler (ch) | 25 Feb 16 | 61,200 | 98.9 | 60,527 | 10,686,188 | 25.344 |
| Tristel | Francisco Soler (ch) | 26 Feb 16 | 112,038 | 114.7 | 128,508 | 10,798,226 | 25.609 |
| Volex | Daren Morris (cfo) | 26 Feb 16 | 20,000 | 41.9 | 8,380 | 230,000 | 0.255 |
| William Hill | Sir Roy Gardner | 26 Feb 16 | 2,600 | 398.9964 | 10,374 | 12,600 | 0.001 |
| Workspace | Maria Moloney | 26 Feb 16 | 2,027 | 731.29 | 14,823 | 2,027 | 0.001 |
| Sells | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Bank of Georgia | Murtaz Kikoria | 25 Feb 16 | 3,000 | 1937.99 | 58,140 | 12,000 | 0.031 |
| JPMorgan Emerging Markets Inv Trust | Anatole Kaletsky | 02 Mar 16 | 4,203 | 548 | 23,032 | 1,910 | 0.001 |
| RELX | Erik Engstrom (ceo) | 29 Feb 16 | 237,278 | 1240.127 | 2,942,549 | 177,040 | 0.016 |
| Titon Holdings | Nicholas Howlett | 02 Mar 16 | 25,000 | 98 | 24,500 | 23,750 | 0.220 |
| Wizz Air Holdings♥ | Jozsef Varadi (ceo) | 26 Feb 16 | 75,000 | 1780 | 1,335,000 | 2,320,500 | 4.077 |
| * placing/tender/open offer ♥ spouse/connected party Ω tender offer | |||||||
