Need To Know: GPT Group (ASX:GPT) Insiders Have Been Buying Shares

We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in GPT Group (ASX:GPT).

What Is Insider Buying?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise'.

View our latest analysis for GPT Group

GPT Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Chairman of the Board Vickki McFadden made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for AU$132k worth of shares at a price of AU$3.77 each. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of AU$4.82. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

GPT Group insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. 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!

GPT Group is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership of GPT Group

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Our data indicates that GPT Group insiders own about AU$9.6m worth of shares (which is 0.1% of the company). Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

So What Does This Data Suggest About GPT Group Insiders?

The fact that there have been no GPT Group insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. While we have no worries about the insider transactions, we'd be more comfortable if they owned more GPT Group stock. 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 1 warning sign for GPT Group you should be aware of.

But note: GPT Group 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, 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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