Yahoo Finance Having purchased UK£5.7m worth of St. James's Place plc (LON:STJ) stock, the recent 4.3% pullback is not what insiders may have expected
The recent 4.3% drop in St. James's Place plc's (LON:STJ) stock could come as a blow to insiders who purchased UK£5.7m worth of stock at an average buy price of UK£12.40 over the past 12 months. Insiders purchase with the hope of seeing their investments increase in value over time. However, due to recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth UK£5.1m, which is not great.
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.
Check out our latest analysis for St. James's Place
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At St. James's Place
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Partnership Director & Member of Executive Board Peter Edwards bought UK£5.7m worth of shares at a price of UK£12.40 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of UK£11.19. 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. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. Peter Edwards was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.
The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
St. James's Place is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
St. James's Place Insiders Bought Stock Recently
Over the last three months, we've seen significantly more insider buying, than insider selling, at St. James's Place. Partnership Director & Member of Executive Board Peter Edwards spent UK£5.7m on stock. But we did see insider selling worth UK£1.9m. We think insiders may be optimistic about the future, since insiders have been net buyers of shares.
Insider Ownership of St. James's Place
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that St. James's Place insiders own 0.3% of the company, worth about UK£17m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.
What Might The Insider Transactions At St. James's Place Tell Us?
It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest St. James's Place insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing St. James's Place. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for St. James's Place you should know about.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.
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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.
