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We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI).
What Is Insider Selling?
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.
View our latest analysis for Group 1 Automotive
Group 1 Automotive Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Senior Vice President of Manufacturer Relations, Peter DeLongchamps, for US$887k worth of shares, at about US$87.00 per share. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$87.79, 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 19.4% of Peter DeLongchamps's stake.
In the last twelve months insiders netted US$2.3m for 26700 shares sold. In the last year Group 1 Automotive insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
I will like Group 1 Automotive better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Group 1 Automotive Insiders Are Selling The Stock
Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Group 1 Automotive. In total, insiders sold US$2.1m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.