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Even if it's not a huge purchase, we think it was good to see that Ulrich Trogele, the COO & Executive VP of American Vanguard Corporation (NYSE:AVD) recently shelled out US$97k to buy stock, at US$8.99 per share. However, it only increased their shares held by 6.4%, and it wasn't a huge purchase by absolute value, either.
View our latest analysis for American Vanguard
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At American Vanguard
The Independent Director Patrick Gottschalk made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$335k worth of shares at a price of US$16.74 each. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$9.40 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.
Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 45.79k shares worth US$656k. On the other hand they divested 6.00k shares, for US$91k. In total, American Vanguard insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. The average buy price was around US$14.33. I'd consider this a positive as it suggests insiders see value at around the current price. 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!
American Vanguard is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Insider Ownership Of American Vanguard
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. American Vanguard insiders own about US$18m worth of shares. That equates to 6.8% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.
So What Do The American Vanguard Insider Transactions Indicate?
It is good to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest American Vanguard insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Our analysis shows 2 warning signs for American Vanguard (1 is a bit concerning!) and we strongly recommend you look at them before investing.