Yahoo Finance Motorola Solutions Insiders Sell US$5.7m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution
The fact that multiple Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.
Check out our latest analysis for Motorola Solutions
Motorola Solutions Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Senior Vice President of Strategy & Ventures, Rajan Naik, sold US$2.0m worth of shares at a price of US$374 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$384, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 37% of Rajan Naik's holding.
Insiders in Motorola Solutions didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
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Insiders At Motorola Solutions Have Sold Stock Recently
Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Motorola Solutions. Specifically, insiders ditched US$3.7m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.
Does Motorola Solutions Boast High Insider Ownership?
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It's great to see that Motorola Solutions insiders own 0.3% of the company, worth about US$226m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Motorola Solutions Tell Us?
Insiders haven't bought Motorola Solutions stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. On the plus side, Motorola Solutions makes money, and is growing profits. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. While conducting our analysis, we found that Motorola Solutions has 3 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.
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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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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.
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