Och-Ziff's co-CIO Jimmy Levin has been selling a bunch of his stock in the hedge fund - and Wall Street investors are wondering why

Och-Ziff.

Jimmy Levin, who was abruptly removed from Och-Ziff's CEO track, has been selling his stock at a rapid clip.

• Och-Ziff's co-CIO Jimmy Levin has sold a chunk of his Class A stock in the firm for the first time ever, all at a rapid pace.
• Levin owns other types of stock, like Class B shares, which carry voting power in the company but no monetary value, as well as restricted stock which won't be available for sale until the end of 2018.
• Och-Ziff shares are down about 80% in value in five years.
• Och-Ziff says the sales are part of a pre-arranged plan, but the quick rate of selling raised questions among some investors on Wall Street.

Jimmy Levin, the 35-year-old investor once considered next in line to become CEO of Och-Ziff Capital Management, has been selling shares in the publicly-traded hedge fund at such a rapid clip that some investors are wondering why.

Levin, the fund's co-chief investment officer and head of global credit, has sold all of his holdings in Och-Ziff's Class A shares, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show. The stake sale, of 2.5 million shares, happened in 13 transactions that were disclosed over about two weeks. The last disclosed sale was on Tuesday.

Levin owns other types of stock, like Class B shares, which carry voting power in the company but no monetary value, as well as restricted stock which won't be available for sale until the end of 2018.

The sale represents a small fraction of what Levin owns. A person familiar with the matter said that, following his sale, Levin now owns the equivalent of about 35 million shares, a figure which includes options.

Och-Ziff, a $32 billion fund, says the sales are part of a publicly "pre-established plan" to sell shares, but the pace of the stake sale has investors asking what's going on, according to an analyst who covers the company. Another person said others in the community, including at Och-Ziff, have taken notice.

Levin's selling has drawn attention because it's the first time that he has had any disclosed sales. He joined Och-Ziff in 2006.

The sales come at a low point for the stock price - Och-Ziff shares are down nearly 80% in value over the past five years - and follow Och-Ziff's abrupt announcement that Levin is no longer on track to become the firm's CEO.

Markets Insider

Och-Ziff's stock price is at a low point.

Levin sold 13 batches of stock in two weeks, worth about $5.8 million

On April 6, Levin began the first of what amounted to sales of about 2.5 million of his Class A shares, regulatory filings show. Levin has made a total of 13 reported sales starting April 6, over a period of about two weeks.

Och-Ziff said in filings the sales are part of a plan that's in compliance with a regulation called Rule 10b5-1(c). That rule allows company insiders to avoid insider trading by setting up a pre-determined trading plan.

Levin owned about 2.5 million Class A shares at the start of April, the filings show. The sales occurred at different times with shares being sold at different prices, but at an approximate price of $2.30 each, he would've have made roughly $5.8 million in the process.

Earlier this year, Levin got a new contract after reportedly clashing with founder Dan Och about Och's succession plan.

Levin's new contract gave him 13.4 million restricted stock units, a February filing shows. As part of the deal, he also got a base pay of $4 million, with a minimum bonus of $7.5 million a year.

If you have more information, please contact reporter Rachael Levy. Her contact information is here.