Last week, Shell plc (LON:SHEL) insiders, who had purchased shares in the previous 12 months were rewarded handsomely. The shares increased by 6.8% last week, resulting in a UK£10b increase in the company's market worth. As a result, their original purchase of US$214k worth of stock is now worth US$239k.

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.

View our latest analysis for Shell

Shell Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Legal Director Donny Ching made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£214k worth of shares at a price of UK£19.47 each. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of UK£21.79. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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 Shell 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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Shell insiders own 0.03% of the company, worth about UK£49m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Shell Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Shell insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. 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. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Shell has 2 warning signs (1 is significant!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

Of course Shell may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.