ASX 200 iron ore company Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA) has had a lacklustre six months, with its share price down 21%.
Then again, all ASX 200 iron ore shares have had a rough time during this period.
For example, the Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) share price has fallen 17%, and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) shares have dipped 9%.
Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) shares are down 7%, and the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is down 5%.
Over the same period, the iron ore price has fallen 7%.
So, why is a Champion Iron director choosing to sell $12 million worth of shares in this climate?
And it's not just any director either.
It's the executive chair of this ASX 200 iron ore share.
Let's investigate.
Director sells $12 million stake
An ASX lodgement shows Michael O'Keeffe sold two million Champion Iron shares on-market on 31 August.
The average sale price for the ASX 200 iron ore share was $5.95 per unit, netting O'Keeffe $11.9 million.
With a sale this big, companies often issue statements explaining why the sale took place.
We saw this recently when the chair of CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) sold 21,000 CSL shares worth $5.58 million.
These statements can be helpful in reassuring investors who may feel concerned about such sales.
The ASX 200 iron ore pure-play hasn't issued a statement regarding O'Keeffe's disposal.
Typical reasons for large director sales include covering tax liabilities and personal portfolio rebalancing.
Despite the lack of explanation, it's worth noting that O'Keeffe retains 43,023,830 shares following the sale.
At the current Champion Iron share price of $6.32, that remaining holding is worth $271.9 million.
That gives him a personal voting power of 8.317%. A 'substantial holder' is anyone with a 5%-plus stake.
So, it's certainly fair to say O'Keeffe remains personally committed to Champion Iron.
Meantime, Champion Iron is presenting at a conference today — here's the presentation.
5-year history of these ASX 200 iron ore shares
Champion Iron shares have traded between a low of $4.55 and a high of $8.08 over the past 52 weeks.
The chart below shows the percentage changes in the share prices for Champion Iron and its key competitors over the past five years.
