Eagers Automotive Insider Lowered Holding By 20% During Last Year

Viewing insider transactions for Eagers Automotive Limited's (ASX:APE ) over the last year, we see that insiders were net sellers. This means that a larger number of shares were sold by insiders in relation to shares purchased.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Eagers Automotive

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Eagers Automotive

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Non-Executive Director, Michelle Prater, sold AU$3.5m worth of shares at a price of AU$14.20 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of AU$14.54. 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. It is worth noting that this sale was only 20% of Michelle Prater's holding. Michelle Prater was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid AU$1.3m for 104.00k shares. But they sold 246.51k shares for AU$3.5m. 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 Eagers Automotive better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Does Eagers Automotive Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company 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. It's great to see that Eagers Automotive insiders own 8.8% of the company, worth about AU$328m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Eagers Automotive Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Eagers Automotive shares in the last quarter. It's heartening that insiders own plenty of stock, but we'd like to see more insider buying, since the last year of Eagers Automotive insider transactions don't fill us with confidence. 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Eagers Automotive and we suggest you have a look.

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 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.