Walt Disney Company Board Member James Gorman Bought Up Disney Stock After The Price Dropped

Recently, Barrons wrote a short but flowery story about how the executive chairman of Morgan Stanley, James Gorman, bought up Disney stock after the price slumped. He’s on the Walt Disney Board, and it feels shallow.

James Gorman joined the Walt Disney Board this year. He previously was the CEO of Morgan Stanley, but last year, he left that position and transitioned to the Executive Chairman position.

Gorman was added to Disney Board ahead of the annual shareholder meeting where the proxy battle with Nelson Peltz’s Trian Group and Blackwell Capital tried to gain board seats. During the fight leading to the vote Petlz pointed out that not a lot of stock was owned by the current Disney Board members. Now Gorman buys up stock, but not till after the price plummeted $10-$11 per share.

Barrons stated:

“On Wednesday, the day after Disney’s slump, Gorman paid $2.1 million for 20,000 shares, an average price of $106.03 each. He now owns 20,467 Disney shares, according to a form Gorman filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.”

I would hope and expect Walt Disney Company Board members to own shares of the company so they have a vested interest in the performance they are in charge of. However, I find it interesting that Gorman waited until after the earnings call and after the stock prices dropped significantly before he purchased a large amount.

As a businessman, he likely purchased them because the price went down, and he expects the shares to eventually increase. It seems that his purchase is also being used, at least by Barron’s, to try to rebuild investor confidence in the stock.

There you have it. A Walt Disney Board Member bought the stock after the price dropped. Maybe this is a sign to invest as well.

What do you think? Comment and let us know!

Source: Barrons