In This Article:
The fact that multiple Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.
Check out our latest analysis for Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
The Company Advisor & Director, W. Jelinek, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$5.5m worth of shares at a price of US$686 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$982). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 2.0% of W. Jelinek's holding.
In the last year Costco Wholesale insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.
Insiders At Costco Wholesale Have Sold Stock Recently
The last three months saw significant insider selling at Costco Wholesale. In total, insiders sold US$14m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.
Does Costco Wholesale Boast High Insider Ownership?
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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Costco Wholesale insiders own about US$770m worth of shares (which is 0.2% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.