Katharine Weymouth Is The Independent Director of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE:GHC) And They Just Sold 30% Of Their Shares

We'd be surprised if Graham Holdings Company (NYSE:GHC) shareholders haven't noticed that the Independent Director, Katharine Weymouth, recently sold US$456k worth of stock at US$415 per share. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 30% in their holding.

Check out our latest analysis for Graham Holdings

Graham Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Executive Vice President Andrew Rosen for US$500k worth of shares, at about US$291 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$445. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 3.41k shares for US$1.2m. But insiders sold 1.10k shares worth US$456k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Graham Holdings insiders. They paid about US$364 on average. These transactions show that insiders have confidence to invest their own money in the stock, albeit at slightly below the recent price. 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!

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Graham Holdings insiders own 15% of the company, currently worth about US$331m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The Graham Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. That said, the purchases were not large. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Judging from their transactions, and high insider ownership, Graham Holdings insiders feel good about the company's future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. For example - Graham Holdings has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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. 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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