Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) insiders who sold US$5.7m worth of stock earlier this year are probably glad they did so as market cap slides to US$119b
Insiders at Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) sold US$5.7m worth of stock at an average price of US$215 a share over the past year, making the most of their investment. The company's market valuation decreased by US$8.6b after the stock price dropped 6.7% over the past week, but insiders were spared from painful losses.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
View our latest analysis for Lowe's Companies
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Lowe's Companies
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive Vice President of Merchandising, William Boltz, for US$3.2m worth of shares, at about US$216 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$192). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.
Lowe's Companies insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Insiders At Lowe's Companies Have Sold Stock Recently
The last three months saw significant insider selling at Lowe's Companies. In total, insiders sold US$5.7m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.
Insider Ownership
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. Lowe's Companies insiders own about US$91m worth of shares. That equates to 0.08% 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.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Lowe's Companies Tell Us?
Insiders sold Lowe's Companies shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. On the plus side, Lowe's Companies makes money, and is growing profits. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. When we did our research, we found 3 warning signs for Lowe's Companies (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that we believe deserve your full attention.
Of course Lowe's Companies 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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here