Looking at Linamar Corporation’s (TSE:LNR ) insider transactions over the last year, we can see that insiders were net buyers. That is, there were more number of shares purchased by insiders than there were sold.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
The Executive Chairman of the Board Linda Hasenfratz made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$3.0m worth of shares at a price of CA$60.01 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of CA$62.74. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. 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. Happily, the Linamar insider decided to buy shares at close to current prices. Linda Hasenfratz was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.
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!
View our latest analysis for Linamar
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.
The last three months saw significant insider selling at Linamar. In total, insider Csaba Havasi dumped CA$1.7m 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.
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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Linamar insiders own 36% of the company, currently worth about CA$1.3b based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.
An insider hasn’t bought Linamar stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. But we take heart from prior transactions. On top of that, insiders own a significant portion of the company. So the recent selling doesn’t worry us. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it’s beneficial to identify the risks facing Linamar. At Simply Wall St, we found 3 warning signs for Linamar that deserve your attention before buying any shares.
If you would prefer to check out another company — one with potentially superior financials — then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
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.