The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against six officers, directors, and major shareholders of public companies for failing to timely report information about their holdings and transactions in company stock. Five publicly-traded companies were also charged for contributing to the filing failures by insiders or failing to report their insiders? filing delinquencies.

The charges stem from an SEC enforcement initiative focused on Form 4 and Schedules 13D and 13G reports that company insiders are required to file regarding their holdings of company stock. Form 4 is a report that corporate officers, directors, and certain beneficial owners of more than 10% of a registered class of a company?s stock must use to report their transactions in company stock within two business days. Schedules 13D and 13G are reports that beneficial owners of more than 5% of a registered class of a company?s stock must use to report their holdings and intentions with respect to the company.

These ownership reports give investors and other market participants the opportunity to evaluate whether the holdings and transactions of company insiders could be indicative of the company?s future prospects. SEC enforcement staff used data analytics to identify the charged insiders as repeatedly filing these reports late. Some filings were delayed by weeks, months, or even years.

The reporting requirements apply irrespective of whether the trades were profitable and regardless of a person?s reasons for the transactions. Without admitting or denying the findings, the following six individuals and five public companies agreed to cease and desist from violating the respective charged provisions and to pay the civil penalties set out below: Nicole M. Fernandez-McGovern, CFO of AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc., $125,000; Matthias L. Heilmann, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Digital Solutions within Baker Hughes Co., $143,000; Joseph Theodore Lukens, Jr., a beneficial owner of Workhorse Group Inc., $120,000; Avery More, a director of SolarEdge Technologies, Inc., $66,000; Lawrence I. Rosen, a beneficial owner of JAKKS Pacific, Inc., Meet Group Inc., FTE Networks, Inc., FuelCell Energy Inc., and Remark Holdings Inc., $150,000; and Peixin Xu, a director and beneficial owner of Cineverse Corporation, $150,000. AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc., $190,000; Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc., $200,000; eXp World Holdings, Inc., $115,000; Lattice Semiconductor Corporation, $185,000; and SolarEdge Technologies, Inc., $125,000.