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Over the past year, many CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.
Check out our latest analysis for CoStar Group
CoStar Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Independent Chairman of the Board, Michael Klein, for US$5.4m worth of shares, at about US$74.69 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$77.58, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. It is worth noting that this sale was only 3.6% of Michael Klein's holding.
In total, CoStar Group insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
I will like CoStar Group better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.
CoStar Group Insiders Are Selling The Stock
There was substantially more insider selling, than buying, of CoStar Group shares over the last three months. In total, insiders sold US$5.9m worth of shares in that time. On the other hand we note President Andrew Florance bought US$1.1m worth of shares , as previously mentioned . Generally this level of net selling might be considered a bit bearish.
Does CoStar Group Boast High Insider Ownership?
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. CoStar Group insiders own 1.2% of the company, currently worth about US$367m based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.