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Should You Take Comfort From Insider Transactions At Standard Chartered PLC (LON:STAN)?

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We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. 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 Standard Chartered PLC (LON:STAN), 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, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.

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We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. 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.'

Check out our latest analysis for Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Group Chief Executive & Director William Winters bought UK£992k worth of shares at a price of UK£6.11 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of UK£6.92. 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. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. Happily, the Standard Chartered insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

In the last twelve months insiders paid UK£3.9m for 648k shares purchased. In the last twelve months Standard Chartered insiders were buying shares, but not selling. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

LSE:STAN Recent Insider Trading, June 10th 2019
LSE:STAN Recent Insider Trading, June 10th 2019

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.

Insiders at Standard Chartered Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last quarter, Standard Chartered insiders have spent a meaningful amount on shares. Not only was there no selling that we can see, but they collectively bought US$2.3m worth of shares. That shows some optimism about the company's future.

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. Insiders own 0.2% of Standard Chartered shares, worth about UK£36m. 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 Do The Standard Chartered Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Standard Chartered we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Standard Chartered.

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

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.