- Investment platform insiders sell £24.8m-worth of stock
- Andy Bell and Fergus Lyons still own £411m and £69.5m, respectively
On 30 December – with AJ Bell (AJB) shares up for 2020 after a wild year for financial markets – chief executive Andy Bell and Investcentre managing director Fergus Lyons cashed in stock worth £16.7m and £8.1m, respectively.
The transactions mark the latest of several rounds of insider selling since the DIY investment platform went public in 2018. Both Mr Bell and Mr Lyons participated in the sale of almost £50m-worth of shares by directors and senior executives in December 2019, which was followed by a £5.6m share sale by Mr Lyons last May and a £7.8m disposal by the chief executive last August.
Viewed against their remaining holdings, the latest sales are slight: Mr Bell continues to hold more than 93 million shares, worth £411m at the current price, while Mr Lyons’ residual interest stands at a still-chunky £69.5m.
But on a longer time horizon, both men have reduced their exposure to AJ Bell shares, even as the group’s market valuation has climbed. Including stock sold at the group’s initial public offering, Mr Bell’s and Mr Lyons’ shareholdings have fallen by a fifth and almost a third, respectively, in just over two years.
Investors tempted to view this as a bearish sign should consider whether they would take some money off the table after building up a successful business over decades. We expect they might. That, after all, is one of the benefits of a public listing – amid all the scrutiny this brings.
Our view of the shares is unchanged. Though AJ Bell trades at an eye-watering 49 times’ forward earnings, this reflects long-term secular trends and growth plans it would be unwise to bet against. Investors should look to bank some profits whenever frothy sentiment returns – as it almost certainly will – but hold for now at 441.5p.
Last IC View: Hold, 436p, 3 Dec 2020
Buys | ||||
Company | Director/PDMR | Date | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) |
Anglo American | Jim Rutherford | 23 Dec 20 | 2,430 | 143,844 |
Audioboom | Michael Tobin (ch) | 21 Dec 20 | 176 | 20,000 |
Avon Rubber | Victor Chavez | 21 Dec 20 | 3,055 | 30,825 |
Avon Rubber | Bruce Thompson | 21 Dec 20 | 3,060 | 91,800 |
BAE Systems | Stephen Pearce | 21 Dec 20 | 4,480 | 48,040 |
British American Tobacco * | Marina Bellini | 23 Dec 20 | 2,699 | 53,980 |
City of London | Jason Oakley | 22 Dec 20 | 85 | 42,500 |
Driver Group | Steven Norris (ch) | 23 Dec 20 | 54 | 24,610 |
GlaxoSmithKline * | Dr H Barron | 21 Dec 20 | 1,331 | 30,629 |
Morses Club | Gary Marshall | 21 Dec 20 | 44 | 44,000 |
Morses Club | Dave Belmont (cs) | 24 Dec 20 | 50 | 25,000 |
Network International Holdings | Ali Mazanderani | 27 Dec 20 | 294 | 129,998 |
NWF | David Downie | 30 Dec 20 | 198 | 19,800 |
Rio Tinto * | Hinda Gharbi | 29 Dec 20 | 5,620 | 78,683 |
SSP | Mike Clasper (ch) | 23 Dec 20 | 323 | 100,003 |
Synthomer | Caroline Johnstone | 23 Dec 20 | 440 | 49,003 |
Touchstone Exploration Inc | Stanley Smith | 22 Dec 20 | 116 | 34,800 |
Tyman | Nicky Hartery | 23 Dec 20 | 357 | 356,500 |
* Purchased via American Depositary Shares |
Sells | ||||
Company | Director/PDMR | Date | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) |
AJ Bell | Andy Bell (ce) | 30 Dec 20 | 460 | 16,674,972 |
AJ Bell | Fergus Lyons (PDMR) | 30 Dec 20 | 460 | 8,075,889 |
Associated British Foods | George Weston (ce) | 23 Dec 20 | 2,253 | 1,463,407 |
essensys | Ian Bryn Sadler | 22 Dec 20 | 148 | 207,200 |
Gamma Communications | Andrew Stone | 18 Dec 20 | 1,614 | 286,541 |
Impax Asset Management | Ian Simm (ce) | 29 Dec 20 | 700 | 140,099 |
OSB Group | Peter Elcock | 24 Dec 20 | 443 | 106,816 |
Strategic Minerals | Peter Wale | 23 Dec 20 | 0.4 | 15,500 |
TMT Investments | Alexander Selegenev | 23 Dec 20 | 594 | 38,610 |