Barratt Developments (BDEV) chief operating officer Steven Boyes has sold a total of 435,000 shares at £8.4235 per share, banking an aggregate sale value of £3.66m.
The sale, which was conducted across four tranches that included Mr Boyes' spouse Andrea Boyes, occurred a week after the release of the housebuilder’s interim results. Barratt’s half-year figures revealed its highest half-year home completion figure for 12 years, with the group completing 8,314 homes - representing a 9.1 per cent rise on the prior year. Its adjusted operating margin edged up to 19.4 per cent from 19 per cent a year earlier.
Investors have flocked to the housebuilder in recent months, with the shares having gained around 17 per cent since the start of 2020. Barratt boasts healthy cash flows and a strong balance sheet, forecasting full-year net cash of around £600m. The group is a good dividend play, having now extended an annual special dividend of £175m to 2021. While management has made room for rewarding shareholders, it maintains its land investment strategy which has supported the growth of the business. Barratt approved £406m of land acquisitions over its interim period, up from £338m last year.
A spokesperson for the company said the transaction was conducted "purely to balance personal investments". Mr Boyes, who is also deputy chief executive, has a residual interest of 457,890 shares.
| Buys | ||||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) | Comments |
| OilCo Investments | Spouse of Efstathios Topouzoglou | 6 Feb 20 | 67,000 | 740.7 | 496,269 | |
| Midwich | Stephen Fenby (Md) | 7 Feb 20 | 200,000 | 500 | 1,000,000 | Placing |
| Midwich | Sharon Herbert | 7 Feb 20 | 3,000 | 500 | 15,000 | Placing (PCA of chairman Andrew Herbert) |
| Fevertree | Bill Ronald (Ch) | 7 Feb 20 | 7,229 | 1,390 | 100,483 | |
| OilCo Investments | Spouse of Efstathios Topouzoglou | 7 Feb 20 | 65,000 | 741.9 | 482,235 | |
| OilCo Investments | Spouse of Efstathios Topouzoglou | 10 Feb 20 | 70,000 | 751.9 | 526,330 | |
| First Group | Mark Sheppard | 11 Feb 20 | 75,000 | 580 | 435,000 | |
| Wizz Air | Iain Wetherall | 14 Feb 20 | 9,100 | 4,475 | 407,225 |
| Sells | ||||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) | Comments |
| Brewin Dolphin | Charles Ferry | 6 Feb 20 | 36,141 | 359.6 | 129,963 | ISA |
| Greencore | Patrick Coveney (Ceo) | 7 Feb 20 | 154,249 | 237.33 | 366,085 | Disposed to cover tax liabilities |
| Wizz Air | Diederik Pen (Coo) | 7 Feb 20 | 15,000 | 4,175 | 626,250 | Exercise options and sale |
| Severn Trent | R Ballance | 11 Feb 20 | 3,497 | 2,605 | 91,097 | Residual interest 36,194 shares |
| Severn Trent | A Smith | 11 Feb 20 | 10,510 | 2,605 | 273,786 | Residual interest 10,238 shares |
| Land Securities Group | Robert Noel (Ceo) | 11 Feb 20 | 113,127 | 966 | 1,093,128 | |
| Billington Holdings | John Stuart Gordon | 12 Feb 20 | 200,000 | 410 | 820,000 | |
| Barratt Developments | Steven Boyes (Coo) | 12 Feb 20 | 116,090 | 842 | 977,478 | Residual interest 457,890 shares |
| Barratt Developments | Andrea Boyes (PCA) | 12 Feb 20 | 288,910 | 842 | 2,432,622 | |
| Barratt Developments | SJ Boyes Discretionary Settlement 2016 (PCA) | 12 Feb 20 | 15,000 | 842 | 126,300 | |
| Barratt Developments | A Boyes Discretionay Settlement 2016 | 12 Feb 20 | 15,000 | 842 | 126,300 | |
| United Utilities | John Russell Houlden | 14 Feb 20 | 18,000 | 1,002 | 180,360 | |
| Whitbread | Louise Smalley | 18 Feb 20 | 5,000 | 4,734 | 236,700 | |
| Whitbread | Robert Smalley (PCA) | 18 Feb 20 | 3,000 | 4,768 | 143,040 |
