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When a single insider purchases stock, it is typically not a major deal. However, when multiple insiders purchase stock, like in Metro Bank Holdings PLC's (LON:MTRO) instance, it's good news for shareholders.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
See our latest analysis for Metro Bank Holdings
Metro Bank Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
The insider Nicholas Winsor made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£98k worth of shares at a price of UK£0.98 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being UK£0.94). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid UK£125k for 129.00k shares. But insiders sold 29.00k shares worth UK£27k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Metro Bank Holdings insiders. 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!
Metro Bank Holdings is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Insiders At Metro Bank Holdings Have Bought Stock Recently
There has been significantly more insider buying, than selling, at Metro Bank Holdings, over the last three months. In total, two insiders bought UK£125k worth of shares in that time. On the other hand, Chairman of the Board Robert Sharpe netted UK£27k by selling. We think insiders may be optimistic about the future, since insiders have been net buyers of shares.
Does Metro Bank Holdings 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Metro Bank Holdings insiders own 1.3% of the company, worth about UK£8.0m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.