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Generally, when a single insider buys stock, it is usually not a big deal. However, when several insiders are buying, like in the case of Smiths Group plc (LON:SMIN), it sends a favourable message to the company's shareholders.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
View our latest analysis for Smiths Group
Smiths Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Non Executive Chairman Steven Williams for UK£338k worth of shares, at about UK£16.88 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of UK£17.87. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. Happily, the Smiths Group insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.
While Smiths Group insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Insiders At Smiths Group Have Bought Stock Recently
Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Smiths Group. Not only was there no selling that we can see, but they collectively bought UK£543k worth of shares. That shows some optimism about the company's future.
Insider Ownership Of Smiths Group
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. From our data, it seems that Smiths Group insiders own 0.07% of the company, worth about UK£4.2m. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.
So What Do The Smiths Group Insider Transactions Indicate?
The recent insider purchases are heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. On this analysis the only slight negative we see is the fairly low (overall) insider ownership; their transactions suggest that they are quite positive on Smiths Group stock. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Smiths Group. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for Smiths Group that deserve your attention before buying any shares.