Stock Markets February 9, 2026

Insiders Put Money Behind Abbott; Major Executives Trim Stakes in Grindr, Ameriprise and Others

Significant director and executive transactions on Feb. 4-6 show concentrated buying at Abbott and notable sales across healthcare, financials and consumer names

By Avery Klein WRB ROP USA FFIN ABT
Insiders Put Money Behind Abbott; Major Executives Trim Stakes in Grindr, Ameriprise and Others
WRB ROP USA FFIN ABT

Company directors and large shareholders executed a set of high-dollar transactions between Feb. 4 and Feb. 6, 2026. Notable insider purchases include a multi-block stake in W.R. Berkley, a director buy at Roper Technologies, an initial purchase in Liberty All Star Equity Fund, an additional acquisition at First Financial Bankshares, and a sizable buy by an Abbott director. On the sell side, large dispositions came from a 10% holder of Grindr, Ameriprise's CEO, Stryker's director, PulteGroup's CEO, and Gilead's CEO under a pre-arranged plan.

Key Points

  • Directors and large shareholders reported material purchases at W.R. Berkley, Roper Technologies, Liberty All Star Equity Fund, First Financial Bankshares, and Abbott between Feb. 4-6, 2026.
  • Significant sales were reported by a 10% holder of Grindr, Ameriprise's CEO, Stryker's director, PulteGroup's CEO, and Gilead's CEO under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, representing substantial liquidity events across consumer, financials, healthcare and industrials.
  • Several of the companies involved are characterized in available analysis as undervalued or fairly valued, with explicit metrics cited for valuation, dividend history and market capitalization in the filings.

This report catalogues material insider transactions filed in early February 2026, documenting where corporate insiders chose to allocate or liquidate equity positions. The entries below list the buys and sells reported between Feb. 4 and Feb. 6, 2026, together with the transaction details disclosed in the filings.


Top insider buys

W.R. Berkley (WRB) - A 10% shareholder, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., LTD, executed a series of buys that together amount to $2.8 million. The transactions, executed on Feb. 5 and 6, 2026, comprised multiple blocks purchased at per-share prices between $70.14 and $71.83. Specifically, the filings show acquisitions of 6,528 shares totaling $461,011; 13,472 shares totaling $960,822; 15,694 shares totaling $1,105,558; and 4,306 shares totaling $307,860. The company is reported to trade at $70.41 with a P/E ratio of 15.8 and is characterized in the available analysis as appearing undervalued relative to fair-value estimates.

Roper Technologies (ROP) - Director Joyce Thomas Patrick JR increased her stake by buying 1,400 shares on Feb. 6, 2026, for $501,844. The executed prices ranged from $358.34 to $358.50, yielding an average price of $358.46 per share. After this purchase, Patrick directly holds 3,775 shares of Roper, with the newly acquired 1,400 shares reported as held indirectly in a Spousal Trust.

Liberty All Star Equity Fund (USA) - Treasurer Erich Rettinger made an initial purchase of 350 shares on Feb. 6, 2026, at $6.01 per share, a total outlay of $2,103. The fund is reported to trade at $6.03 with a market capitalization of $1.78 billion. It provides a dividend yield of 12.12% and has a consecutive dividend payment history spanning 40 years. The fund is noted as having short-term obligations that exceed liquid assets, yet it holds an overall financial health score of "GOOD" and a P/E ratio of 8.87.

First Financial Bankshares (FFIN) - Director Edwards Murray Hamilton bought 500 shares of common stock on Feb. 5, 2026, at $34.18 per share, costing $17,090. After the transaction, Edwards directly owns 201,985 shares. The filings also report indirect holdings of 8,880 shares via spouse ownership, 42,634 shares in one trust, and 19,480 shares in a separate trust with no beneficial ownership.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) - Director Daniel J. Starks made a substantial purchase totaling $1.08 million. On Feb. 4, 2026, Starks acquired 4,967 shares at prices ranging from $108.82 to $109.52 (average $109.14) and 5,033 shares at prices between $107.77 and $108.72 (average $108.33). These combined purchases amount to the reported $1.08 million. After these transactions Starks directly holds 6,738,817 shares and indirectly holds 258 shares in a trust. Abbott is reported to have a market capitalization of $189.67 billion, trading near a 52-week low of $105.27, and is described in the available analysis as appearing undervalued. The company carries a financial health rating of "GOOD," has paid dividends for 56 consecutive years, raised them for 12 straight years, and currently yields 2.31%.


Top insider sells

Grindr Inc. (GRND) - A 10% holder, Lu James Fu Bin, sold a meaningful block of shares across three transactions between Feb. 4 and Feb. 6, 2026, netting roughly $14.6 million. The filing details 375,000 shares sold at an average price of $10.13 on Feb. 4; 600,000 shares at an average price of $10.07 on Feb. 5; and 475,000 shares at an average price of $10.01 on Feb. 6.

Ameriprise Financial (AMP) - Chairman and CEO James M. Cracchiolo disclosed a string of sales on Feb. 4, 2026, totaling $26.6 million. The reported disposals were carried out in multiple blocks at prices ranging from $540.11 to $548.61 per share. The filing enumerates sales of 7,136 shares for $3.85 million; 4,235 shares for $2.29 million; 5,643 shares for $3.06 million; 4,507 shares for $2.45 million; 6,886 shares for $3.75 million; 1,782 shares for $972,594; 2,928 shares for $1.60 million; and 15,696 shares for $8.61 million.

Stryker Corp. (SYK) - Director Ronda E. Stryker sold shares across Feb. 4 and Feb. 5, 2026, with total proceeds reported as $181.7 million from disposals of 5,223 shares sold on those dates at prices spanning $358.51 to $368.56. The filings for Feb. 4 include a sequence of larger transactions that show 14,437 shares sold at $358.51, 14,673 shares at $359.48, and other blocks executed at progressively higher prices. Stryker is reported to trade at $358.29 with a market capitalization of $137 billion, and is characterized in the available analysis as fairly valued.

PulteGroup (PHM) - CEO and President Ryan Marshall sold 111,250 shares on Feb. 5, 2026, for approximately $14.8 million, at prices ranging from $132.66 to $135.49 per share. The filing further documents that Marshall sold 53,813 shares to satisfy tax obligations at $130.87 per share, totaling roughly $7 million on Feb. 4. The same filing also lists acquisitions by Marshall of 120,818 shares and 29,170 shares with no price on Feb. 4, and a disposition of an additional 3,750 shares on Feb. 5.

Gilead Sciences (GILD) - Chairman and CEO Daniel Patrick O'Day sold 115,640 shares on Feb. 5, 2026, at $150.00 per share, producing proceeds of $17,346,000. The filing states this transaction was carried out under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on Feb. 28, 2025. The disclosure also notes that immediately prior to the sale O'Day exercised options to acquire the same number of shares at an exercise price of $66.01 per share, for a total exercise cost of $7,633,396.


Why track insider transactions

Insider purchases and sales provide direct evidence of how those most familiar with a company's operations are allocating personal capital. When officers, directors, or significant shareholders buy shares, it can indicate confidence in the company's near-term prospects from those with access to detailed operational and strategic insights. Conversely, insider selling can reflect a range of motivations - from portfolio rebalancing and tax obligations to differing views on near-term valuation or liquidity needs. No single transaction should be interpreted in isolation; patterns and context matter. Investors commonly use insider activity as a complementary input alongside fundamental analysis.


Takeaway

The filings from Feb. 4-6, 2026, show concentrated insider buying focused on insurance, industrial software and healthcare equipment names, highlighted by the multi-block purchases at W.R. Berkley and Abbott. Simultaneously, high-dollar sales by major holders and senior executives at companies including Grindr, Ameriprise, Stryker, PulteGroup and Gilead accounted for substantial liquidity events. Market participants monitoring insider flow will note both the buy-side concentration in selected names and the large-scale dispositions that occurred across several sectors during the same window.

Risks

  • Insider selling can reflect non-operational motives such as tax planning or diversification - the filings for PulteGroup and other executives explicitly note share disposals to cover tax obligations, which limits inference about company outlook - this affects investor interpretation in the homebuilding and corporate executive compensation contexts.
  • Concentration of buying or selling in the short Feb. 4-6 window may reflect timing or liquidity needs of specific insiders rather than a change in fundamentals - this uncertainty is relevant to sectors shown with large trades such as healthcare equipment, insurance, and financial services.
  • Some funds or issuers show liquidity imbalances - for example, Liberty All Star Equity Fund's short-term obligations exceed liquid assets, which introduces potential operational risk despite the reported 'GOOD' financial health score and high dividend yield; this bears on investor assessment of closed-end fund and income-sensitive sectors.

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