Yahoo Finance Have Insiders Been Buying Sandvik AB (STO:SAND) Shares?
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 we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Sandvik AB (STO:SAND).
Do Insider Transactions Matter?
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. 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'.
See our latest analysis for Sandvik
Sandvik Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive VP & CFO, Tomas Eliasson, for kr4.3m worth of shares, at about kr146 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (kr150). When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was 64% of Tomas Eliasson's holding. Notably Tomas Eliasson was also the biggest buyer, having purchased kr22m worth of shares.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid kr22m for 152.29k shares. On the other hand they divested 111573.34 shares, for kr17m. In total, Sandvik insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by 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!
Sandvik 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.
Sandvik Insiders Bought Stock Recently
Over the last three months, we've seen significantly more insider buying, than insider selling, at Sandvik. In total, nine insiders bought kr16m worth of shares in that time. On the other hand, insiders netted kr13m by selling. The buying outweighs the selling, which suggests that insiders may believe the company will do well in the future.
Insider Ownership
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Sandvik insiders own about kr112m worth of shares. That equates to 0.06% of the company. 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 Sandvik Insider Transactions Indicate?
The recent insider purchases are heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Once you factor in the high insider ownership, it certainly seems like insiders are positive about Sandvik. Nice! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Sandvik. You'd be interested to know, that we found 3 warning signs for Sandvik and we suggest you have a look.
Of course Sandvik 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.
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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. 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. Thank you for reading.
