Investors rarely appreciate it when an insider of an ASX company is selling their shares. Even more so when it is a CEO. Yet that is the situation confronting shareholders of ASX 200 gold share Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) today.
The Northern Star share price has had a fantastic start to the trading week. So far this Monday, Northern Star shares have put on an impressive 5.02% to $11.20 a share. Most ASX gold shares are shining today after the precious metal pushed higher late last week.
Gold is now back over US$1,800 an ounce, which is giving ASX gold shares a major boost this Monday. Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) shares have gained 2.5% so far today to $1.69 each, while St Barabara Ltd (ASX: SBM) shares have risen by 5.6% to 76 cents each.
But one person might not be feeling too good about these moves today. Ironically, this is Northern Star managing director and CEO, Stuart Tonkin.
Last Friday, well after market close, Northern Star released an ASX announcement regarding Tonkin. This revealed that the CEO had sold 223,112 Northern Star shares between 15 and 16 December.
These were offloaded at an average price of $10.74 a share, reportedly to "meet Mr Tonkin's estimated tax liability". 223,112 shares at $10.74 each would have netted Tonkin around $2.4 million.
It's rather poor timing for Tonkin in hindsight, who would have bagged an extra $100,000 or so if he had sold his shares at the current share price today.
Is it a big deal when ASX 200 CEOs sell shares?
It's easy to bag a senior member of management for selling shares in their own company. But CEOs face the same financial risks and challenges as we all do, such as wealth diversification and tax liabilities. CEO share sales are rarely welcomed by investors but are not uncommon on the ASX.
Even after this rather hefty sale, Tonking retains 1,160,000 shares in Northern Star, which would be worth approximately $13 million at today's pricing. So when you consider that, this share sale doesn't seem too consequential.
The Northern Star share price has been a real ASX 200 winner in 2022 thus far, with the company's shares up a healthy 18.5% or so year to date. Northern Star shares are also up more than 19.7% over the past 12 months, and up almost 90% over the past five years:
At the current Northern Star share price, this ASX 200 gold share has a market capitalisation of $12.94 billion, with a trailing dividend yield of 1.93%.
