Insider buying declined last week with insiders buying $45.92 million of stock compared to $67.18 million in the week prior. Selling also decreased with insiders selling $1.15 billion of stock last week compared to $1.85 billion 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 to 25.02. In other words, insiders sold more than 25 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 27.49. 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.

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. DSW Inc. (DSW): $23.67

Executive Chairman Jay L. Schottenstein acquired 500,000 shares of this retailer of shoes, paying $22.87 per share for a total amount of $11.44 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Schottenstein Realty LLC.

We wrote the following about the company after a purchase by Mr. Schottenstein in August,

“DSW posted respectable second quarter earnings with a 7% increase in net sales to $627 million, a 10% increase in earnings to $38 million or 42 cents per share and a 2% increase in same store sales. Yet the stock lounges near its 52 week low despite trading for less than 7 times EBITDA and sporting a dividend yield of 2.66%. The company has a strong balance sheet with no debt and $471 million in short and long-term investments. The stock was down following second quarter results because revenue fell short of analyst expectations and inventory increased to $505 million, a 6.3% increase on a square foot basis.”

The stock trended down over the last few months along with other brick-and-mortar retailers before rebounding more than 4% on Friday following Mr. Schottenstein’s purchase.

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

2. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD): $22.93

Director James T. Hackett acquired 125,000 shares of this independent oil & gas company, paying $24.50 per share for a total amount of $3.06 million. Mr. Hackett increased his stake by 136.62% to 216,497 shares with this purchase. 25,000 of these shares were purchased indirectly by 1997 Hackett Investment, L.P.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Enterprise Products Partners L.P. here.

3. Ares Management, L.P. (ARES): $13.9

Shares of this alternative asset manager were acquired by 4 insiders:

• Co-Founder & President Michael J. Arougheti acquired 37,914 shares, paying $14.17 per share for a total amount of $537,307. Mr. Arougheti increased his stake by 43.54% to 125,000 shares with this purchase.
• Co-Founder & Partner Bennett Rosenthal acquired 21,348 shares, paying $14.24 per share for a total amount of $304,097.
• Co-Founder & Partner David B. Kaplan acquired 21,347 shares, paying $14.24 per share for a total amount of $304,082.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Ares Management, L.P. here.

4. EXCO Resources Inc. (XCO): $1.09

Director John C. Wilder Jr. acquired 1,556,890 shares of this independent oil and natural gas company, paying $1.28 per share for a total amount of $1.99 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Energy Strategic Advisory Services LLC.

ESAS is the registered owner of these shares. Bluescape Resources Company LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, owns 100% of the membership interests of ESAS and has the power to direct the affairs of ESAS.

Mr. Charles John Wilder Jr. has the power to direct the affairs of Bluescape as its Executive Chairman. The Reporting Person states that neither the filing of this statement nor anything herein shall be deemed an admission that he is, for purposes of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) or otherwise, the beneficial owner of these securities.

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

5. First Citizens Bancshares Inc. (FCNCA): $256.58

Shares of this regional bank were acquired by 2 insiders:

• Chairman and CEO Frank B. Holding Jr. acquired 1,925 shares, paying $239.00 per share for a total amount of $460,075. These shares were purchased indirectly by the reporting person as custodian for B. P. Holding and L.R. Holding II.
• 10% Owner Frank B. Holding acquired 3,358 shares, paying $239.00 per share for a total amount of $802,562. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for First Citizens Bancshares Inc. here.

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

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Twitter, Inc. (TWTR): $25.02

Shares of Twitter were sold by 3 insiders:

• Director Evan Clark Williams sold 1,848,342 shares for $25.25, generating $46.68 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by the Sara & Evan Williams Foundation.
• Senior VP, Engineering Alexander Roetter sold 12,578 shares for $25.17, generating $316,641 from the sale.
• Senior VP, Product Kevin Weil sold 4,193 shares for $25.17, generating $105,554 from the sale.

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

2. Workday, Inc. (WDAY): $84.58

Shares of this application software company were sold by 4 insiders:

• Chairman David A. Duffield sold 200,000 shares for $83.32, generating $16.66 million from the sale.
• Director George J. Still sold 20,000 shares for $85.00, generating $1.7 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• Director Michael M. McNamara sold 11,765 shares for $85.03, generating $1 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by Flextronics International USA, Inc. 2005 Senior Executive Deferred Compensation Plan dtd 6/30/05.
• SVP, General Counsel & Secretary James P. Shaughnessy sold 7,000 shares for $84.01, generating $588,089 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.

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

3. j2 Global, Inc. (JCOM): $80.9

Director Richard S. Ressler sold 164,849 shares of this internet software company for $80.68, generating $13.3 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for j2 Global, Inc. here.

4. Aon plc (AON): $96.65

President & CEO Gregory C. Case sold 99,645 shares of this risk management, HR services and insurance company for $95.02, generating $9.47 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Aon plc here.

5. salesforce.com, inc. (CRM): $82.14

Shares of this software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider were sold by 8 insiders:

• Chairman of the Board & CEO Marc Benioff sold 87,500 shares for $80.55, generating $7.05 million from the sale.
• Pres, Applications & Platform Alexandre Dayon sold 4,167 shares for $80.25, generating $334,402 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Pres., Sales & Cust. Success Maria Martinez sold 3,410 shares for $79.78, generating $272,043 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Chief Accounting Officer Joe Allanson sold 783 shares for $79.78, generating $62,470 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Co-Founder Parker Harris sold 702 shares for $79.78, generating $56,007 from the sale.These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• EVP and Chief Legal Officer Burke F. Norton sold 609 shares for $79.78, generating $48,588 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Director Maynard G. Webb sold 300 shares for $80.25, generating $24,075 from the sale.
• EVP, Global Employee Success Cynthia G. Robbins sold 117 shares for $79.78, generating $9,335 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for salesforce.com, inc. here.

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