Director dealings: Smiths chairman ups stake

Smiths Group chairman George Buckley purchased 858 ordinary shares in the London-based engineering business on Friday.

Buckley, who joined Smiths back in 2013, acquired the shares at an average price of 1,456.80p each, for a total value of £12,499.33.

Back in November, analysts at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch downgraded Smiths to 'underperform' from 'neutral' and slashed the price target to 1,350p from 1,550p.

It said that from an operational standpoint, FY19 is likely to be particularly weighted to the second half, with the detection and medical businesses both likely to be weak in the first half before seeing acceleration through the second half.

"Overall, we remain of the view that consensus expectations are about right for the next 12-18 months but despite the progress in both Detection and Medical the aggregate earnings momentum remains lacklustre relative to the broader sector."

As of 1620 GMT, Smiths shares had picked up 1.03% to 1,465.50p.

Top Director Buys

Baillie Gifford Uk Growth Fund (BGUK)
Director name: Neill ,Ruary
Amount purchased: 20,000 @ 177.00p
Value: £35,400.00

Smiths Group (SMIN)
Director name: Buckley,George
Amount purchased: 858 @ 1,456.80p
Value: £12,499.33

Triad Group (TRD)
Director name: Leer,Adrian
Amount purchased: 100,000 @ 11.00p
Value: £11,000.00

Altitude Group (ALT)
Director name: Stella,Nichole
Amount purchased: 10,500 @ 86.00p
Value: £9,030.00

Ashley House (ASH)
Director name: Holmes,Jonathan
Amount purchased: 3,333 @ 13.50p
Value: £449.96

Ashley House (ASH)
Director name: Walters,Antony
Amount purchased: 3,333 @ 13.50p
Value: £449.96

Ashley House (ASH)
Director name: Hathaway,James Andrew John
Amount purchased: 3,333 @ 13.50p
Value: £449.96

Top Director Sells