Insiders At Masco Sold US$7.3m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

The fact that multiple Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Masco

Masco Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Group President of Plumbing Products, Jai Shah, for US$2.0m worth of shares, at about US$76.36 per share. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$71.91. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

Masco insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

I will like Masco better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insiders At Masco Have Sold Stock Recently

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Masco shares. Specifically, insiders ditched US$4.3m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Insider Ownership Of Masco

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 0.3% of Masco shares, worth about US$54m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Masco Insiders?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But it is good to see that Masco is growing earnings. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Masco. While conducting our analysis, we found that Masco has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.

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 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.