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Synthomer director buys on dip

The specialist plastics group had a difficult first half
August 22, 2019

Synthomer (SYNT) non-executive director Alex Catto perhaps spotted a buying opportunity in the shares of the specialist plastics group, which are down by around 43 per cent from August last year. Mr Catto, who has held his role at Synthomer since 1981, bought an aggregate of 184,400 shares on 9 August totalling £542,444, split between two dealings. 

IC TIP: Buy at 298p

The share purchases leave the director with a beneficial holding of 1,614,239 shares and a non-beneficial holding of 7,072,411 shares, amounting to 0.38 per cent and 1.66 per cent of the company’s issued share capital, respectively. A spokesperson for Synthomer did not give a reason for the motivation behind the dealings.

For 2019, Berenberg forecasts EPS of 26.98p, falling to 23.87p in 2020.

Buys       
CompanyDirectorDateNo of sharesPrice (p)Value (£)Holding (shares)Holding (%)
Aberforth Split Level Income TrustLesley Jackson 8 Aug 1932,72875.9724,86332,7280.014
Advanced Oncotherapy *Michael Sinclair (ch)12 Aug 19875,00040350,0007,469,6603.354
AFH FinancialMark Chambers9 Aug 1915,62532050,00049,6030.116
Boohoo Brian Small14 Aug 1920,000230.846,16040,0000.003
Burford Capital Charles Parkinson8 Aug 198,00065552,4008,0000.004
Burford Capital Hugh Wilson13 Aug 1929,410703206,752254,4100.116
Burford Capital Hugh Wilson8 Aug 1925,000797.55199,388225,0000.103
CLS Holdings Andrew Kirkman (cfo)14 Aug 1950,000226.7113,517100,1280.025
ContourGlobalJoseph Brandt (ceo)8 Aug 1947,4001.655178,4531,695,9270.253
ContourGlobalJoseph Brandt (ceo)8 Aug 196,0001659,9001,736,9270.259
ContourGlobalRuth Cairnie9 Aug 197,715166.59512,8537,7150.001
ContourGlobal ♥Ruth Cairnie9 Aug 1917,285167.929,02225,0000.004
Diversified Gas & Oil Bradley Gray (fd and coo)13 Aug 1915,0009814,7002,252,9810.338
Diversified Gas & Oil David Johnson (ch)13 Aug 1970,000103.32374,776300,0000.045
Fidelity Japan Trust Sarah MacAulay 13 Aug 1920,000152.830,56061,3500.046
Fidelity Japan Trust ♥David Graham14 Aug 1913,051153.2419,99938,3940.029
Fidelity Japan Trust David Graham14 Aug 197,343153.414311,26525,3430.019
First Property Group Ben Habib (ceo)8 Aug 19100,00043.543,50014,600,00013.113
Funding Circle Andrew Learoyd (ch)8 Aug 1947,103108.1950,9571,689,9910.486
Indivior Lorna Parker9 Aug 198,28260.37075,00025,8900.004
Indivior Peter Bains 8 Aug 1954,00060.69932,77754,0000.007
Lookers Mark Raban (cfo)14 Aug 1950,00043.521,75050,0000.013
Lookers Stuart Counsell 14 Aug 19216,21343.594,053216,2130.056
Lookers Stuart Counsell 14 Aug 193,78743.8451,660220,0000.057
M&C Saatchi Mickey Kalifa 12 Aug 1927,98526875,00027,9850.031
M&C Saatchi David Kershaw (ceo)12 Aug 1937,314268100,0024,164,3744.564
M&C Saatchi Jeremy Sinclair (ch)12 Aug 1937,314268100,0024,164,3744.564
M&C Saatchi Bill Muirhead12 Aug 1937,314268100,0024,164,3744.564
Plus500 Michael Fairbairn13 Aug 1915,00065798,52155,0000.049
Plus500 Asaf Elimelech (ceo)14 Aug 1930,460684208,24730,4600.027
Plus500 Elad Even-Chen (cfo)14 Aug 1930,460685.8208,89530,4600.027
Provident Financial Paul Hewitt9 Aug 1913,148380.26749,99834,2050.013
Rolls-Royce Beverly Goulet9 Aug 195,00078339,1509,3020.000
RPSJohn Douglas (ceo)14 Aug 1945,517126.5457,597501,9920.222
RPSJohn Douglas (ceo)13 Aug 1930,335127.538,677456,4750.202
Senior David Squires (ceo)8 Aug 1925,000196.549,125103,6080.025
Senior Celia Baxter9 Aug 197,500201.9715,14817,5000.004
Shield Therapeutics James Karis (ch)13 Aug 1975,000178133,500161,6670.138
Spirax-Sarco Engineering ♥James Pike ch)8 Aug 191,2508,090101,1258,6460.012
Spirax-Sarco Engineering Kevin Thompson8 Aug 192,5008,100202,5002,5000.003
Spire Healthcare Garry Watts (ch)8 Aug 1950,0009849,000653,5770.163
Spire Healthcare Justinian Ash (ceo)8 Aug 1949,554100.950,000394,6540.098
Sports Direct International Richard Bottomley14 Aug 1910,000234.724823,47210,0000.002
Synthomer Alexander Catto9 Aug 19184,400294.167542,4441,614,2390.380
TP ICap David Shalders14 Aug 1914,801268.80639,78628,8170.005
Verona Pharma David Ebsworth (ch)8 Aug 1960,0005030,000295,3870.280
Vitec Group (The) Ian McHoul (ch)14 Aug 195,0001,118.0955,90510,0000.022
Vitec Group (The) Richard Tyson9 Aug 192,6541,123.9029,8282,6540.006
WPP Jacques Aigrain12 Aug 1910,500972.53102,11634,0000.003
WPP Jacques Aigrain9 Aug 1910,500984.64103,38723,5000.002
Sells       
CompanyDirectorDateNo of sharesPrice (p)Value (£)Holding (shares)Holding (%)
Admiral ♥†David Stevens (ceo)14 Aug 19225,0002,1264,783,5008,347,9502.869
NewRiver REIT Allan Lockhart (ceo)13 Aug 1975,000160.4120,300405,6330.133
Quilter Paul Feeney (ceo)8 Aug 1913,604135.7118,462900,0900.047
Unicorn AIM VCT Jeremy Hamer 9 Aug 1928,254139.7539,48512,2020.009
Young & Co's Brewery ††Torquil Sligo-Young9 Aug 192,0001,62032,400292,3040.979
Young & Co's Brewery ♥ ††Torquil Sligo-Young9 Aug 1918,0001,620291,600274,3040.918
        
* placing/tender/open offer/right issue ♥ spouse/connected party       
†Shares sold by The Waterloo Foundation, a charity of which Mr Stevens is a trustee. The Foundation retains a shareholding of just over 1 per cent
††Around 52 per cent of the shares were sold in connection with a tax liability relating to a deferred annual bonus share award, made to Mr Sligo-Young by the company in June 2016