This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In Greggs

Some Greggs plc (LON:GRG) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the CFO & Executive Director, Richard Hutton, recently sold a substantial UK£497k worth of stock at a price of UK£27.58 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 12% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

Check out our latest analysis for Greggs

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Greggs

In fact, the recent sale by Richard Hutton was the biggest sale of Greggs shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of UK£27.32. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid UK£240k for 8.67k shares. But they sold 33.46k shares for UK£923k. In total, Greggs insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. 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!

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Does Greggs Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Based on our data, Greggs insiders have about 0.1% of the stock, worth approximately UK£3.3m. We consider this fairly low insider ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Greggs Tell Us?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Greggs, in the last three months. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. On the plus side, Greggs makes money, and is growing profits. Insiders own relatively few shares in the company, and when you consider the sales, we're not particularly excited about the stock. So we'd only buy after very careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To assist with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Greggs.

But note: Greggs 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.