Yahoo Finance Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) up 3.9%, but insiders are still down 16% after purchasing CA$1.6m of stock last year
Insiders who bought CA$1.6m worth of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF) stock in the last year have seen some of their losses recouped as the stock gained 3.9% last week. However, total losses seen by insiders are still CA$253k but in since the time of purchase.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
See our latest analysis for Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
The insider Ingrid Johnson made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$1.5m worth of shares at a price of CA$71.01 each. That means that even when the share price was higher than CA$59.46 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.
Sun Life Financial insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Our data indicates that Sun Life Financial insiders own about CA$6.6m worth of shares (which is 0.02% of the company). Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Sun Life Financial Insiders?
There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. The transactions are fine but it'd be more encouraging if Sun Life Financial insiders bought more shares in the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Sun Life Financial and understanding this should be part of your investment process.
Of course Sun Life Financial 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. 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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