One of the things that stock investors should look at is what the "Insiders" are doing. Is management buying or selling their own stock? If management is buying, that would represent their own confidence in the future profitability of the company. If Managers or directors are selling their own stock in large amounts, what would that suggest to you?
Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers' stock has taken a beating over the last year as a sign that the housing market is cooling more rapidly than most "Industry Experts" would have you believe. Look at the change in inventory for Toll Brothers over the last year:
Inventory: April 30, 2006: $5,939,352,000
Inventory: October 31, 2005: $5,068,624,000
That represents a very scary increase over a very short period of time.
What have the Toll Brothers been doing during this same period? SELLING LOTS OF THEIR SHARES!!!!
TOLL, BRUCE E.Director
620,000
Direct
Planned Sale
$26,040,0001
12-Sep-05
TOLL, ROBERT I.Chief Executive Officer
292,000
Direct
Option Exercise at $4.3282 - $4.5 per share.
$1,289,000
25-Jul-05
TOLL, BRUCE E.Director
400,000
Direct
Planned Sale
$22,400,0001
25-Jul-05
TOLL, BRUCE E.Director
387,000
Indirect
Sale at $56.0257 per share.
$21,681,945
25-Jul-05
TOLL, ROBERT I.Chief Executive Officer
133,000
Indirect
Disposition (Non Open Market) at $56.6169 per share.
$7,530,047
22-Jul-05
TOLL, ROBERT I.Chief Executive Officer
673,300
Indirect
Sale at $57.125 per share.
$38,462,262
21-Jul-05
TOLL, ROBERT I.Chief Executive Officer
193,700
Indirect
Sale at $57.0893 per share.
$11,058,197
21-Jul-05
TOLL, ROBERT I.Chief Executive Officer
1,000,000
Direct
Planned Sale
$56,000,000
Of course all insider sales have to be disclosed but if you're not paying attention you can lose a lot of money while the Toll Brothers are "cashing in".
