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Many Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.
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
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Costco Wholesale
The insider, Daniel Hines, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$2.7m worth of shares at a price of US$603 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$457. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.
All up, insiders sold more shares in Costco Wholesale 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. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
I will like Costco Wholesale better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Insiders At Costco Wholesale Have Sold Stock Recently
Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Costco Wholesale. In total, insiders sold US$3.6m 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?
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Costco Wholesale insiders own 0.2% of the company, currently worth about US$504m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.
So What Do The Costco Wholesale Insider Transactions Indicate?
Insiders haven't bought Costco Wholesale stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But since Costco Wholesale is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Costco Wholesale and we suggest you have a look.