Prudential executive reduces stake

Prudential director Barry Stowe has cut his stake in the company selling 95,000 of his shares. Stowe, who now holds 1,100,796 shares in the firm, made the sale on 23 August for a total price of £563,046 at 592.68p per share. The 52-year-old, who has been in his role since November 2006 after more than a decade with US insurer AIG, is also a director of the Life Insurance Marketing Research Association and the Life Office Management Association. Earlier this year, Stowe was paid a bonus worth around £3m, a figure which included £150,000 in housing costs and almost £50,000 to educate his children. The group recently announced its first half profits had jumped by a quarter to top expectations, driven by strong growth in Asia. Operating profit, on a International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) basis, rose 25% from £0.85bn to £1.06bn, ahead of expectations of £0.96bn. IFRS basic earnings per share increased 27% from 25.4p to 32.2p. Earlier this month chief financial officer Tidjane Thiam purchased 1,705 ordinary shares in the company at 551.00p per share bringing his total to 1,829,517 shares. Top Director BuysHenry Boot (BHY) Director name: Mr John BrownAmount purchased: 10,000 @ 123.00p Value: £12,300Pendragon (PDG) Director name: Mr Ian D CoullAmount purchased: 100,000 @ 10.60p Value: £10,600SIG (SHI) Director name: Mr Michael John ChiversAmount purchased: 10,000 @ 102.20p Value: £10,220Top Director SellsPrudential (PRU) Director name: Mr Barry StoweAmount sold: 95,000 @ 592.68p Value: £563,046 Prudential SIG