An Insider At Harvey Norman Holdings Lowered Their Holding Recently

From what we can see, insiders were net sellers in Harvey Norman Holdings Limited's (ASX:HVN ) during the past 12 months. That is, insiders sold the stock in greater numbers than they purchased it.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

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Harvey Norman Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The CEO & Executive Director, Kay Lesley Page, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for AU$3.3m worth of shares at a price of AU$4.77 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of AU$4.77. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. This single sale was just 3.4% of Kay Lesley Page's stake. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Kay Lesley Page.

Kay Lesley Page divested 1.13m shares over the last 12 months at an average price of AU$4.80. 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!

Check out our latest analysis for Harvey Norman Holdings

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Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Harvey Norman Holdings insiders own 41% of the company, currently worth about AU$2.4b based on the recent share price. 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 Harvey Norman Holdings Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Harvey Norman Holdings shares in the last quarter. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the Harvey Norman Holdings insiders selling. While it's good to be aware of 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Harvey Norman Holdings has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

But note: Harvey Norman Holdings 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 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.