Those following along with Aviva plc (LON:AV.) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by Mark George Culmer, Independent Non-Executive Chairman of the company, who spent a stonking UK£423k on stock at an average price of UK£4.24. That purchase boosted their holding by 319%, which makes us wonder if the move was inspired by quietly confident deeply-felt optimism.

See our latest analysis for Aviva

Aviva Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Group CEO & Director Amanda Blanc made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£1.0m worth of shares at a price of UK£3.08 each. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of UK£4.26. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

In the last twelve months Aviva insiders were buying shares, but not selling. 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!

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 Aviva Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.06% of Aviva shares, worth about UK£11m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Aviva Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Insiders likely see value in Aviva shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. To help with this, we've discovered 4 warning signs (2 shouldn't be ignored!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Aviva.

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

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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