Yahoo Finance How Many DS Smith Plc (LON:SMDS) Shares Did Insiders Buy, In The Last Year?
We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in DS Smith Plc (LON:SMDS).
What Is Insider Buying?
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. 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.'
See our latest analysis for DS Smith
DS Smith Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Group Finance Director & Executive Director Adrian R. Marsh for UK£50k worth of shares, at about UK£3.12 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of UK£3.55. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. The good news for DS Smith share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders bought 38900 shares for a total of UK£138k. In the last twelve months DS Smith insiders were buying shares, but not selling. Their average price was about UK£3.54. It's great to see insiders putting their own cash into the company's stock, albeit at below the recent share price. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
DS Smith 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
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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.2% of DS Smith shares, worth about UK£10m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About DS Smith Insiders?
It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded DS Smith shares in the last quarter. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Overall we don't see anything to make us think DS Smith insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for DS Smith.
But note: DS Smith may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
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