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We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMED).
What Is Insider Selling?
It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.
We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year'.
See our latest analysis for Amedisys
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Amedisys
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Director Bruce Perkins for US$335k worth of shares, at about US$167 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$241), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.
Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 6.00k shares worth US$971k. But they sold 1.83k shares for US$314k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Amedisys insiders. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Does Amedisys Boast High Insider Ownership?
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that Amedisys insiders own 2.0% of the company, worth about US$159m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.