Welcome to edition 226 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying increased significantly last week with insiders buying $165.25 million of stock compared to $51.96 million in the week prior. Selling also increased with insiders selling $653.17 million of stock last week compared to $495.08 million in the week prior.

Sell/Buy Ratio: The insider Sell/Buy ratio is calculated by dividing the total insider sales in a given week by total insider purchases that week. The adjusted ratio for last week dropped down to 3.95. In other words, insiders sold  almost 4 times as much stock as they purchased. This is the lowest sell/buy ratio we have seen since January 2013 and is partially driven by low insider selling during earnings season.

The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 9.53. We are calculating an adjusted ratio by removing transactions by funds and companies and trying as best as possible only to retain information about insiders and 10% owners who are not funds or companies.

Insider Sell Buy Ratio October 17, 2014

Note: As mentioned in the first post in this series, certain industries have their preferred metrics such as same store sales for retailers, funds from operations (FFO) for REITs and revenue per available room (RevPAR) for hotels that provide a better basis for comparison than simple valuation metrics. However metrics like Price/Earnings, Price/Sales and Enterprise Value/EBITDA included below should provide a good starting point for analyzing the majority of stocks.

Notable Insider Buys:

1. Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (ETE): $57.65

Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,200,000 shares of this natural gas pipeline company, paying $51.22 per share for a total amount of $61.47 million. These shares were acquired indirectly by Kelcy Warren Partners, L.P.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. here.

2. AGCO Corporation (AGCO): $43.53

Director Mallika Srinivasan acquired 319,064 shares of this farm & construction machinery company, paying $43.60 per share for a total amount of $13.9 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Chennai, India based TAFE Motors and Tractors Limited.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for AGCO Corporation here.

3. Acuity Brands, Inc. (AYI): $128.58

Director James H. Hance Jr. acquired 8,000 shares of this lighting fixtures company, paying $122.94 per share for a total amount of $983,520. Mr. Hance increased his stake by 4848.48% to 8,165 shares with this purchase.

Mr. Hance joined the Board of Directors of Acuity Brands in August 2014 and is an operating executive of The Carlyle Group.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Acuity Brands, Inc. here.

4. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $8.25

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 74,000 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $8.23 per share for a total amount of $609,108. These shares were purchased indirectly by Frost Gamma Investments Trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Opko Health, Inc. here.

5. Devon Energy Corporation (DVN): $58.17

Director John E. Bethancourt acquired 9,150 shares of this independent oil and natural gas company, paying $54.64 per share for a total amount of $499,972. Mr. Bethancourt increased his stake by 182.49% to 14,164 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Devon Energy Corporation here.

You can view the full list of purchases from this Insider Buying page.

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Vornado Realty Trust (VNO): $104.67

Director Michael D. Fascitelli sold 400,000 shares of this commercial REIT for $101.39, generating $40.56 million from the sale. 100,000 of these shares were sold indirectly by an LP.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Vornado Realty Trust here.

2. Cantel Medical Corp. (CMN): $36.8

Shares of this infection prevention and control products provider were sold by 8 insiders:

• Director Alan J. Hirschfield sold 50,000 shares for $37.73, generating $1.89 million from the sale.
• President and CEO Andrew A. Krakauer sold 37,267 shares for $36.97, generating $1.38 million from the sale.
• Chairman Charles M. Diker sold 30,000 shares for $38.39, generating $1.15 million from the sale.
• Senior VP and General Counsel Eric W. Nodiff sold 5,000 shares for $38.76, generating $193,778 from the sale.
• Director Ann E. Berman sold 3,750 shares for $37.00, generating $138,750 from the sale.
• Executive VP and COO Jorgen B. Hansen sold 2,000 shares for $37.53, generating $75,060 from the sale.
• Vice President and Controller Steven C. Anaya sold 2,000 shares for $39.50, generating $79,000 from the sale.
• Senior Vice President Seth M. Yellin sold 800 shares for $38.81, generating $31,044 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Cantel Medical Corp. here.

3. CSX Corp. (CSX): $33.86

Shares of this railroad company were sold by 2 insiders:

• Executive Vice President & COO Oscar Munoz sold 75,000 shares for $33.76, generating $2.53 million from the sale.
• EVP & Chief Financial Officer Fredrik J. Eliasson sold 40,000 shares for $33.53, generating $1.34 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for CSX Corp. here.

4. Douglas Emmett Inc (DEI): $26.49

Chairman of the Board Dan A. Emmett sold 140,000 shares of this apartment REIT for $26.31, generating $3.68 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Douglas Emmett Inc here.

5. Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI): $104.46

CEO Richard A. Noll sold 30,000 shares of this apparel company for $104.00, generating $3.12 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Hanesbrands Inc. here.

You can view the full list of sales from this Insider Sales page.