Leading the list of insider sellers in the run-up to Christmas was Tatton Asset Management (TAM) chief executive Paul Hogarth, who offloaded 1.18 million shares at an average price of 590p to scoop almost £7 million in proceeds on 22 December.
The sale followed the disposal of just under 300,000 shares at 525p back in September which raised £1.54 million.
It has been a productive year for Tatton, with the acquisition of the Verbatim funds business helping to boost assets under management by £1.8 billion to £10.8 billion and a distribution deal with Fintel (FNTL) providing access to several thousand new users.
Also selling was Steve Ingham, chief executive of recruitment firm PageGroup plc (PAGE), who disposed of a total of 480,000 shares at an average price of 630.6p in five deals spread over 22 and 23 December, netting himself an early Christmas present of £3 million.
Year to date, PageGroup shares have risen 48% thanks to a series of earnings upgrades, offering plenty of opportunity for investors to lock in some profits.
STRONG TRADING PROMPTS UPGRADES
In early October, shares jumped in response to a strong third quarter trading update which was accompanied by an increase in full-year profit guidance to around £155 million, up from prior guidance in July of between £125 million and £135 million.
After being forced to reduce its fee-earning headcount by 882 people in 2020 due to the pandemic, the company added a net 627 fee-earners in the first nine months of 2021.
The improved trading performance and lower headcount resulted in higher productivity, with gross profit per fee earner up 21% compared with the third quarter of 2019.
In December management lifted its annual profit guidance again to £165 million following a positive fourth quarter.
‘The positive momentum and trends the group has seen during 2021, particularly at the end of the third quarter, have continued at both a regional and global level in the period,’ said Ingham at the time.
Numis analyst Steve Woolf noted the company had made good progress against the targets outlined at an investor event in 2018 and said a similar exercise on 9 December provided 'an opportunity to revisit the progress to date and outline the next phase of the strategy’.
