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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. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So before you buy or sell Y. T. Realty Group Limited (HKG:75), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Selling?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

View our latest analysis for Y. T. Realty Group

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Y. T. Realty Group

Chairman & MD Chung Kiu Cheung made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for HK$11m worth of shares at a price of HK$2.41 each. That means that even when the share price was higher than HK$2.30 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when an insider has purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. Chung Kiu Cheung was the only individual insider to buy over the year.

Chung Kiu Cheung bought 16.4m shares over the last 12 months at an average price of HK$2.45. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Y. T. Realty Group is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

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. Y. T. Realty Group insiders own about HK$99m worth of shares. That equates to 5.4% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Y. T. Realty Group Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Y. T. Realty Group we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

Of course Y. T. Realty Group 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 aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.