Lance Uggla Just Bought Shares In Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Potential Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) shareholders may wish to note that the , Lance Uggla, recently bought US$414k worth of stock, paying US$276 for each share. We reckon that's a good sign, especially since the purchase boosted their holding by 63.5%.

Check out our latest analysis for Mastercard

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Mastercard

The Independent Director, David Carlucci, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.0m worth of shares at a price of US$263 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$275. 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 8.6% of David Carlucci's stake. David Carlucci was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 3975 shares worth US$900k. But insiders sold 3974 shares worth US$1.0m. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Insider Ownership of Mastercard

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Mastercard insiders own 0.1% of the company, worth about US$284m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Mastercard Insiders?

The stark truth for Mastercard is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. On the plus side, Mastercard makes money, and is growing profits. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Mastercard, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

Of course Mastercard 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, but not derivative transactions.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.