Covidien executives profit from sale of restricted shares

December 4, 2009 by MassDevice staff

Senior Covidien officials take advantage of stock-award programs at the Mansfield, Mass.-based healthcare conglomerate for a combined $2.2 million in pre-holiday cheer.

Senior officials at Covidien (NYSE: COV) sold more than 60,000 shares in recent days, largely taking advantage of yearly vesting of restricted stock awards to pocket some pre-holiday cash.

Combined, the stock sales generated nearly $2.2 million for 12 executives at the Mansfield, Mass.-based device conglomerate, formerly Tyco Healthcare.

Chairman and CEO Richard Meelia saw a total of 39,391 restricted shares vest on Dec. 1 and promptly sold 4,669 shares from his newly expanded stake at a market price of $47.60 each. Coupled with the Nov. 21 sale of 9,131 shares at $45.65 a share, Meelia's overall take was nearly $640,000.

James Clemmer, president of Covidien's $2 billion medical supplies division, was another big beneficiary, cashing in nearly 10,000 shares for a $464,000 gain. CFO Charles Dockendorff likewise enjoyed a net profit of about $740,000 during November and early December, although most of his activity was through pre-arranged sales of stock combined with the exercise of options priced at $18.20 a share.

Other executives selling previously restricted shares this week included General Counsel John Masterson and Jose Almeida, president of Covidien's medical device segment.