Shares in United Utilities (UU.) have performed poorly since the latter part of May, so investors may be concerned to see a large sale of shares by chief executive Steve Mogford. However, before jumping to conclusions, it is best to view this activity in context. In recent years, Mr Mogford has been a regular buyer, picking up small, albeit significant pockets of shares almost monthly since 2011. He also remains the group’s largest non-institutional stakeholder.
The group’s share price trouble can largely be attributed to tightening regulation in the water sector following high-profile blunders by Thames Water and an increasingly hostile attitude towards the private ownership of public services stoked partly by the rise of Jeremy Corbyn and his Labour Party.
On a company level things look more positive, with United Utilities notching up a good performance against its outcome delivery incentives, for example a 22 per cent decrease in complaints.
Buys | |||||||
Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
Autins♥ | Terry Garthwaite | 10 Jan 18 | 15,000 | 125 | 18,750 | 15,000 | 0.068 |
Avon Rubber | Petrus Vervaat | 08 Jan 18 | 967 | 1200 | 11,604 | 2,967 | 0.010 |
Big Sofa Technologies† | Nicholas Mustoe (ch) | 10 Jan 18 | 76,336 | 13.1 | 10,000 | 2,775,116 | 4.230 |
Big Sofa Technologies† | Steven Metcalfe | 10 Jan 18 | 76,336 | 13.1 | 10,000 | 1,388,737 | 2.117 |
Big Sofa Technologies† | Paul Clark | 10 Jan 18 | 76,336 | 13.1 | 10,000 | 2,486,585 | 3.790 |
Cambria Automobiles | Paul McGill | 08 Jan 18 | 41,897 | 59.398 | 24,886 | 41,897 | 0.042 |
Carpetright | Wilf Walsh (ceo) | 05 Jan 18 | 31,250 | 160 | 50,000 | 85,028 | 0.125 |
Concha | Chris Akers (ch) | 08 Jan 18 | 5,000,000 | 0.215 | 10,750 | 10,000,000 | 0.574 |
Debenhams | Sergio Bucher (ceo) | 08 Jan 18 | 169,000 | 29.56 | 49,956 | 356,617 | 0.029 |
Debenhams | Sir Ian Cheshire (ch) | 05 Jan 18 | 175,000 | 29.38 | 51,415 | 800,000 | 0.065 |
Diageo | J Ferrán (ch) | 10 Jan 18 | 311 | 2664 | 8,285 | 115,637 | 0.005 |
Dialight | Martin Rapp | 08 Jan 18 | 12,500 | 573 | 71,625 | 26,000 | 0.080 |
Dialight | Wayne Edmunds (ch) | 09 Jan 18 | 12,000 | 592.97 | 71,156 | 12,000 | 0.037 |
Dialight | Stephen Bird | 09 Jan 18 | 10,000 | 590 | 59,000 | 38,000 | 0.117 |
FFI♥ | Simon Ingram | 04 Jan 18 | 80,000 | 75 | 60,000 | 510,000 | 0.325 |
FFI♥ | Simon Ingram | 05 Jan 18 | 80,000 | 75 | 60,000 | 590,000 | 0.376 |
Futura Medical† | Jonathan Freeman | 08 Jan 18 | 11,030 | 57.5 | 6,342 | 63,565 | 0.053 |
Gym Group (The)♥ | Emma Woods | 08 Jan 18 | 8,930 | 224.278 | 20,028 | 8,930 | 0.007 |
Jupiter Emerging & Frontier Income Trust | Audrey McNair | 05 Jan 18 | 4,395 | 115.97 | 5,097 | 31,895 | 0.034 |
Jupiter Emerging & Frontier Income Trust | John Scott (ch) | 10 Jan 18 | 4,365 | 117.49 | 5,128 | 33,265 | 0.036 |
Jupiter Emerging & Frontier Income Trust | Mark Dampier | 04 Jan 18 | 3,940 | 116 | 4,570 | 62,096 | 0.067 |
Jupiter Emerging & Frontier Income Trust | Nicholas Moakes | 04 Jan 18 | 4,279 | 115.97 | 4,962 | 31,779 | 0.034 |
Metal Tiger | Charles Hall (ch) | 10 Jan 18 | 1,000,000 | 2.44 | 24,400 | 27,858,406 | 2.548 |
Micro Focus International | Darren Roos | 10 Jan 18 | 3,101 | 2256.8 | 69,983 | 3,101 | 0.001 |
Mothercare | Glyn Hughes (cfo) | 09 Jan 18 | 53,903 | 46 | 24,795 | 123,799 | 0.072 |
Mothercare | Mark Newton-Jones (ceo) | 09 Jan 18 | 218,866 | 45.69 | 100,000 | 753,576 | 0.441 |
OPG Power Ventures | Dmitri Tsvetkov (cfo) | 09 Jan 18 | 25,000 | 22.875 | 5,719 | 25,000 | 0.007 |
P2P Global Investments | Michael Cassidy | 10 Jan 18 | 15,000 | 830 | 124,500 | 15,000 | 0.019 |
Pantheon Resources | Jay Cheatham (ceo) | 04 Jan 18 | 90,000 | 49 | 44,100 | 3,760,528 | 1.584 |
Personal Assets Trust | Frank Rushbrook | 04 Jan 18 | 4 | 40895.8 | 1,636 | 13,712 | 0.644 |
Personal Assets Trust♥ | Frank Rushbrook | 04 Jan 18 | 4 | 40899 | 1,636 | 13,716 | 0.644 |
Seeing Machines* | Mike McAuliffe (ceo) | 04 Jan 18 | 1,000,000 | 5 | 50,000 | 1,000,000 | 0.046 |
Seeing Machines* | Yong Kang Ng | 04 Jan 18 | 1,000,000 | 5 | 50,000 | 1,368,774 | 0.062 |
Shanta Gold† | Ketan Patel | 08 Jan 18 | 219,794 | 6 | 13,188 | 56,409,069 | 7.331 |
Shanta Gold† | Anthony Durrant (ch) | 08 Jan 18 | 423,888 | 6 | 25,433 | 3,103,737 | 0.403 |
Shanta Gold† | Keith Marshall | 08 Jan 18 | 219,794 | 6 | 13,188 | 442,679 | 0.058 |
Stock Spirits | Paul Bal (cfo) | 09 Jan 18 | 10,000 | 267.5 | 26,750 | 50,184 | 0.025 |
Strat Aero* | Paul Ryan | 05 Jan 18 | 186,010,627 | 0.35 | 651,037 | 339,267,770 | 6.572 |
UIL | David Shillson | 08 Jan 18 | 4,923 | 164 | 8,074 | 60,654 | 0.067 |
UIL | Warren McLeland | 08 Jan 18 | 4,923 | 164 | 8,074 | 48,043 | 0.053 |
UIL | Alison Hill | 08 Jan 18 | 4,923 | 164 | 8,074 | 24,164 | 0.027 |
West African Minerals† | Andrew Gutmann | 09 Jan 18 | 307,100 | 2.34 | 7,186 | 307,100 | 0.079 |
West African Minerals† | Willy Simon | 09 Jan 18 | 307,100 | 2.34 | 7,186 | 307,100 | 0.079 |
Sells | |||||||
Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
Cambria Automobiles♥ | Philip Swatman (ch) | 04 Jan 18 | 100,000 | 57 | 57,000 | 200,000 | 0.200 |
CityFibre Infrastructure♥ | Gary Mesch | 08 Jan 18 | 6,627 | 57.01741 | 3,779 | 1,160,204 | 0.183 |
CityFibre Infrastructure♥ | Gary Mesch | 09 Jan 18 | 100,000 | 58.6 | 58,600 | 1,060,204 | 0.168 |
CityFibre Infrastructure♥ | Gary Mesch | 10 Jan 18 | 193,373 | 58.30796 | 112,752 | 866,831 | 0.137 |
Parkmead♥ | Ian Rawlinson | 05 Jan 18 | 180,000 | 36.92 | 66,456 | 106,644 | 0.108 |
Sirius Real Estate | Andrew Coombs (ceo) | 09 Jan 18 | 166,000 | 65.5207 | 108,764 | 4,217,064 | 0.455 |
TMT Investments | Alexander Selegenev | 09 Jan 18 | 2,000 | 372.5 | 7,450 | 33,000 | 0.119 |
TMT Investments | Alexander Selegenev | 09 Jan 18 | 2,000 | 380.8 | 7,616 | 35,000 | 0.126 |
TMT Investments | Alexander Selegenev | 09 Jan 18 | 3,000 | 362 | 10,860 | 30,000 | 0.108 |
United Utilities | Steve Mogford (ceo) | 04 Jan 18 | 217,500 | 800.7196 | 1,741,565 | 110,044 | 0.016 |
*Placing/tender/open offer ♥Spouse/connected party †Fees/compensation |