Parsons' options pay day

Time Warner Inc.'s (NYSE: TWX) CEO Dick Parsons had an extra payday last week thanks to options. But before you go out and panic, this is part of a planned share trading plan, so it will not be interpreted as a major exodus by management. The SEC filings show the exercise prices and even show the sale prices.

Parsons exercised 225,000 shares out of an options plan with a $15.72 strike price and exercised another 112,500 shares with a $19.66 strike price. These were subsequently sold in smaller blocks with an average sale being under 20,000 shares at any one time. That keeps any block volume selling from showing up and spooking any traders who keep their eyes on such sales.

If you add up all the sales it looks like the average stock sale execution came in at $21.45. With an average purchase price of $17.03 on 337,500 shares, it looks like Parsons took home an extra $1.49 million before figuring these block sales down to the exact penny.

That's not a bad pay day, but it shouldn't be a selling indication from the top.