Insiders At TransUnion Sold US$1.8m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

Many TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

See our latest analysis for TransUnion

TransUnion Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the President of International, Todd Skinner, for US$1.4m worth of shares, at about US$74.49 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$71.88. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$206k for 4.15k shares. But insiders sold 24.49k shares worth US$1.8m. In total, TransUnion insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. The average sell price was around US$74.74. It's not particularly great to see insiders were selling shares at below recent prices. But we wouldn't put too much weight on the insider selling. 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!

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).

TransUnion Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at TransUnion. In total, insider Richard Mauldin dumped US$117k 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.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that TransUnion insiders own 0.3% of the company, worth about US$43m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The TransUnion Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought TransUnion stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing TransUnion. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for TransUnion that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

But note: TransUnion 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.

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.