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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 before you buy or sell Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited (ASX:SOL), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
What Is Insider Buying?
It’s quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
We don’t think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. As Peter Lynch said, ‘insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.’
See our latest analysis for Washington H. Soul Pattinson
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Washington H. Soul Pattinson
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Chairman of the Board Robert Millner bought AU$609k worth of shares at a price of AU$24.36 per share. That implies that an insider found the current (approximate) price enticing. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. In any event it’s generally a positive if insiders are buying shares at around the current price. Robert Millner was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.
The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
I will like Washington H. Soul Pattinson better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Insider Ownership
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it’s a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Washington H. Soul Pattinson insiders own 6.1% of the company, currently worth about AU$420m 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.