Possible Bearish Signals With Ashtead Technology Holdings Insiders Disposing Stock

The fact that multiple Ashtead Technology Holdings Plc (LON:AT.) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. 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, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

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.

View our latest analysis for Ashtead Technology Holdings

Ashtead Technology Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the CEO & Executive Director, Allan Pirie, sold UK£2.4m worth of shares at a price of UK£5.96 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of UK£7.36, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. This single sale was just 23% of Allan Pirie's stake.

Insiders in Ashtead Technology Holdings didn't buy any shares in the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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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. Insiders own 2.1% of Ashtead Technology Holdings shares, worth about UK£12m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Ashtead Technology Holdings Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no Ashtead Technology Holdings insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Ashtead Technology Holdings insiders. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Ashtead Technology Holdings. For example - Ashtead Technology Holdings has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

Of course Ashtead Technology Holdings 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 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.