Jean Stéphenne, one of GlaxoSmithKline's longest serving managers, toasted the new year by topping on 20,000 shares at an average price of 1,440p - perhaps with half an eye on chief executive Andrew Witty's recent knighthood in the New Year's honours' list.
Tony Lowrie, a non-executive director of Kenmare Resources, pocketed £410,233 after hiving-off 1m shares - or 17 per cent – of his stake in the titanium miner in the run-up to Christmas.
GSK’s Stéphenne off-loades shares
Although relatively small by FTSE 100 standards, the purchase is significant as Mr Stéphenne holds one of the most important positions in GSK's operational business as general manager of its biologicals division and seems to underline the market's recent support for the share price which has seen it break out of its usual trading range as defensive shares enjoy safe haven status. It also caps a busy Christmas period for the company which sold several consumer medicines brands for a total of £426m to Prestige Brands Holdings.
Julian Hofmann
Lowrie loses out on rise
Kenmare Resources’ share price moved-up by about 10 per cent following the sale by Tony Lawrie, when it was announced that RBC Capital had identified the Irish miner as its top pick within the rare earth minerals sector with a 90p price target. That’s double the current share price, but potential investors would be well advised to keep an eye on Kenmare’s eventual full-year costs. While high prices for titanium feedstock and zircon have been driving revenues, in common with other African miners, Kenmare has also had to contend with fast-rising input costs, which have blown-out the original estimates for the expansion of production facilities at Kenmare’s flagship Moma mine in Mozambique.
Mark Robinson
Director buys
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accumuli | Ian Winn (fd) | 19 Dec 11 | 175,000 | 9 | 15,750 |
| Accumuli | Nick Kingsbury (ch) | 20 Dec 11 | 335,052 | 8.38 | 28,077 |
| All Star Minerals | Conrad Windham (ceo) | 21 Dec 11 | 1,000,000 | 0.42 | 4,200 |
| All Star Minerals | Conrad Windham (ceo) | 21 Dec 11 | 250,000 | 0.45 | 1,125 |
| All Star Minerals | Conrad Windham (ceo) | 22 Dec 11 | 250,000 | 0.48 | 1,200 |
| Aminex | David Hooker | 20 Dec 11 | 350,000 | 3.05 | 10,675 |
| Aminex | Frederick Tughan | 20 Dec 11 | 1,350,000 | 3.2537 | 43,925 |
| Augean | Roger McDowell (ch) | 19 Dec 11 | 400,000 | 26 | 104,000 |
| Aurora Russia | Geoffrey Miller | 20 Dec 11 | 150,000 | 32 | 48,000 |
| Aviva | John MacFarlane | 19 Dec 11 | 10,000 | 282.4 | 28,240 |
| Aviva | Russell Walls | 22 Dec 11 | 4,000 | 299.00 | 11,960 |
| Barclays | Sir Michael Rake | 20 Dec 11 | 5,914 | 167.23 | 9,890 |
| BG | Caio Koch-Weser | 19 Dec 11 | 1,900 | €16.067 | €30,527 |
| Boot, Henry | Jonathan Sykes | 21 Dec 11 | 10,000 | 119.5 | 11,950 |
| BP | BR Nelson | 22 Dec 11 | 11,040 | 449.94 | 49,674 |
| Brightside | Julian Telling | 06 Dec 11 | 100,000 | 17.5 | 17,500 |
| Bunzl | Eugenia Ulasewicz | 19 Dec 11 | 4,000 | 837.8655 | 33,515 |
| Ceramic Fuel Cells | Janine Hoey | 22 Dec 11 | 100,000 | A$0.105 | A$105,500 |
| Conroy Gold & Natural Resources | Prof Richard Conroy (ch) | 20 Dec 11 | 975,000 | 3.3 | 32,175 |
| Conroy Gold & Natural Resources | Maureen Jones (md) | 20 Dec 11 | 100,000 | 3.44 | 3,440 |
| Daniel Thwaites | Mrs AJM Yerburgh | 16 Dec 11 | 60,000 | 115 | 69,000 |
| Devro International | Paul Neep | 21 Dec 11 | 5,900 | 254 | 14,986 |
| Digital Barriers | Nicholas Holgate (fd) | 21 Dec 11 | 3,000 | 165.25 | 4,958 |
| Elektron Technology | Keith daley (ch) | 19 Dec 11 | 100,000 | 19.5 | 19,500 |
| Evocutis | Tom Bannatyne (ch) | 22 Dec 11 | 750,000 | 2.63 | 19,688 |
| Goodwin | AJ Baylay | 21 Dec 11 | 1,200 | 1182.5 | 14,190 |
| Hardide | Peter Davenport (fd) | 20 Dec 11 | 900,000 | 0.54 | 4,860 |
| Henderson TR Pacific | C Keljik | 19 Dec 11 | 2,632 | 143.4775 | 3,776 |
| IFG | Gary Owens | 20 Dec 11 | 21,000 | €1 | €21,100 |
| IndigoVision | Hamish Grossart (ch) | 20 Dec 11 | 10,000 | 255 | 25,500 |
| International Power | David Weston | 22 Dec 11 | 2,000 | 326.00 | 6,520 |
| IS Solutions | Michael Tinlin | 20 Dec 11 | 16,180 | 37.5 | 6,068 |
| Ladbrokes | Ian Bull | 23 Dec 11 | 9,650 | 124.00 | 11,966 |
| MAM Funds | Graham Hooper | 22 Dec 11 | 522,021 | 18.5 | 96,574 |
| MAM Funds | Robert Clarke | 22 Dec 11 | 261,011 | 18.5 | 48,287 |
| Management Consulting | Julian Waldron | 21 Dec 11 | 81,725 | 22 | 17,980 |
| Martin Currie Global Port | Neil Gaskell | 16 Dec 11 | 20,000 | 125.75 | 25,150 |
| OMG | Jonathan Reeve | 21 Dec 11 | 15,000 | 19.975 | 2,996 |
| OPG Power Ventures | Mike Grasby | 21 Dec 11 | 5,000 | 37 | 1,850 |
| Quindell Portfolio | Robert Terry (ch, ceo) | 22 Dec 11 | 634,050 | 4.70 | 29,800 |
| Rio Tinto | Ann Godbehere | 22 Dec 11 | 31 | 3,158.85 | 979 |
| Rio Tinto | Richard Goodmanson | 22 Dec 11 | 217 | 3,158.85 | 6,855 |
| Rio Tinto | Paul Tellier | 22 Dec 11 | 176 | 3,158.85 | 5,560 |
| SABMiller | JA Manzoni | 20 Dec 11 | 644 | 2163.749 | 13,935 |
| Segro | David Sleath | 20 Dec 11 | 20,000 | 196.3 | 39,260 |
| Segro | Justin Read | 20 Dec 11 | 10,186 | 196.3 | 19,995 |
| Severfield-Rowen | Chris Holt | 20 Dec 11 | 10,572 | 168.7 | 17,835 |
| Sierra Rutile | Jan Castro (ch) | 22 Dec 11 | 75,000 | 33.3 | 24,975 |
| Sinclair IS Pharma | Stuart Swanson | 19 Dec 11 | 12,893 | 22 | 2,836 |
| Sinclair IS Pharma | Stuart Swanson | 20 Dec 11 | 100,000 | 22 | 22,000 |
| Sinclair IS Pharma | Stuart Swanson | 21 Dec 11 | 50,000 | 22 | 11,000 |
| Standard Life Equity Income | Josephine Dixon | 20 Dec 11 | 4,050 | 249.5 | 10,105 |
| SVG Capital | Lynn Fordham | 21 Dec 11 | 8,197 | 201.3 | 16,501 |
| Treatt | Richard Hope | 21 Dec 11 | 403 | 334 | 1,346 |
| Wellington Market | Michael Chadwick | 19 Dec 11 | 58,000 | 40 | 23,200 |
| William Hill | David Lowden | 19 Dec 11 | 10,000 | 186.51 | 18,651 |
| William Hill | Imelda Walsh | 20 Dec 11 | 10,000 | 186.327 | 18,633 |
| William Hill | Georgina Harvey | 23 Dec 11 | 10,000 | 190.37 | 19,037 |
| WPP | Mark Read | 21 Dec 11 | 1,250 | 650 | 8,125 |
| WSP | Chris Cole (ceo) | 20 Dec 11 | 30,000 | 188 | 56,400 |
| WSP | Jason Urry | 21 Dec 11 | 4,200 | 204 | 8,568 |
Director sells
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GlaxoSmithKline | JR Stéphenne | 21 Dec 11 | 20,000 | 1,440.80 | 288,160 |
| Jupiter Fund Management | Philip Johnson | 21 Dec 11 | 60,000 | 217.80 | 130,680 |
| Kenmare Resources | Tony Lowrie | 19 Dec 11 | 1,000,000 | 41 | 410,233 |
| Logica | Jean-Marc Lazzari | 21 Dec 11 | 88,931 | 60.71 | 53,990 |
| Tesco | K Towle | 22 Dec 11 | 40,193 | 385.60 | 154,984 |
Table compiled by Robert Ansted.
Key to abbreviations: ch = chairman; ce = chief executive; cfo = chief financial officer; fd = finance director; coo = chief operating officer; cs =company secretary; md = managing director
