Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR) shares are getting a reprieve from the ASX sell-off that we are witnessing this Thursday. At the time of writing, this ASX All Ords tech stock has lifted by a happy 1.22%, leaving it at $8.30 a share. That stands in stark contrast to the broader S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO), which is currently nursing a hefty 1.1% loss.
One investor who won't be benefiting as much from this market-bucking performance as he would have a few weeks ago is Dicker Data founder, chair, and CEO David Dicker.
It's not quite clear why Dicker Data shares are defying the sinking market today, with no fresh news from the company in this session. Perhaps investors think this business is completely immune from the 'Liberation Day' tariffs US President Donald Trump has just revealed.
What is more clear is that investors don't seem delighted with the announcement last month that Mr Dicker has offloaded a decent chunk of his Dicker Data shares.
According to the 19 March announcement, Mr Dicker sold 8,302,417 shares on that day for an average sale price of $8.10 each. That gives this sale a rough value of $67.25 million. This represents an approximate 4.6% stake in the company. Dicker Data told investors that this would result in the company's free share float increasing from 46% to 50%.
The sales were reportedly made indirectly "by way of special crossings on ASX to certain sophisticated, professional and/or institutional investors".
So why is David Dicker selling down shares in his own company?
Image source: Getty Images
Why is the CEO selling stock?
Although investors never like to see these sales, founders, CEOs, or insiders can offload shares for a variety of reasons. Perhaps they have tax bills to pay or a new home to buy. Perhaps they simply want to diversify their wealth away from a single stock.
Or perhaps they are losing faith in their own business.
It seems Mr Dicker's sales are for more personal reasons, though. According to the company's announcement, the sales were executed to "fund David Dicker's final divorce settlement instalment, along with other personal funding needs".
Investors arguably don't need to worry about Mr Dicker's overall commitment to Dicker Data, though. That's judging by the fact that he still owns (albeit indirectly) 85.75 million Dicker Data shares, which at current pricing have a value of approximately $713.47 million. Mr Dicker has also committed to no future share sales in the next 12 months.
Dicker Data shares snapshot
Dicker Data shares have had a rough time in recent months. Despite today's price rise, the Dicker Data share price remains down by 22.25% over the past 12 months and down 46% from its 2021 peak of over $15 a share.
At the current share price, Dicker Data is trading on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 19.1, with a dividend yield of 5.29%.
