Need To Know: Astron Paper & Board Mill Limited (NSE:ASTRON) Insiders Have Been Selling Shares

We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So before you buy or sell Astron Paper & Board Mill Limited (NSE:ASTRON), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Buying?

Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock in the company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

See our latest analysis for Astron Paper & Board Mill

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Astron Paper & Board Mill

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Vice President of Finance & Accounts, Bipinkumar Patel, for ₹9.6m worth of shares, at about ₹101 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (₹44.50). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price. Bipinkumar Patel was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months. Notably Bipinkumar Patel was also the biggest buyer, having purchased ₹9.6m worth of shares.

Bipinkumar Patel divested 165.77k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of ₹59.81. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership of Astron Paper & Board Mill

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Astron Paper & Board Mill insiders own about ₹758m worth of shares. That equates to 37% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Astron Paper & Board Mill Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Astron Paper & Board Mill insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. It's heartening that insiders own plenty of stock, but we'd like to see more insider buying, since the last year of Astron Paper & Board Mill insider transactions don't fill us with confidence. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Astron Paper & Board Mill you should be aware of, and 1 of these is potentially serious.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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, 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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