Yahoo Finance Insiders who bought M&G plc (LON:MNG) last year must be regretting not buying more as market cap hits UK£5.4b
M&G plc (LON:MNG) insiders who bought shares over the past year were rewarded handsomely last week. The stock rose 3.7%, resulting in a UK£188m rise in the company's market capitalisation. Put another way, the original UK£369k acquisition is now worth UK£385k.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
View our latest analysis for M&G
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At M&G
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Non-Executive Director Massimo Tosato for UK£200k worth of shares, at about UK£2.00 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of UK£2.14. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. 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. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider purchases were made at close to current prices.
In the last twelve months M&G 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!
M&G is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Insider Ownership of M&G
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. From our data, it seems that M&G insiders own 0.1% of the company, worth about UK£6.3m. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.
So What Do The M&G Insider Transactions Indicate?
The fact that there have been no M&G insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think M&G insiders are doubting 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. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for M&G you should know about.
If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
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.
