Trade Alert: The Independent Non-Executive Director Of Myer Holdings Limited (ASX:MYR), David Whittle, Has Just Spent AU$57k Buying 300% More Shares

Even if it's not a huge purchase, we think it was good to see that David Whittle, the Independent Non-Executive Director of Myer Holdings Limited (ASX:MYR) recently shelled out AU$57k to buy stock, at AU$0.28 per share. While that isn't the hugest buy, it actually boosted their shareholding by 300%, which is good to see.

See our latest analysis for Myer Holdings

Myer Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by insider Margaret Cattermole for AU$100k worth of shares, at about AU$0.22 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of AU$0.29. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

In the last twelve months Myer Holdings insiders were buying shares, but not selling. They paid about AU$0.26 on average. Although they bought at below the recent share price, it is good to see that insiders are willing to invest in the company. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. From looking at our data, insiders own AU$4.1m worth of Myer Holdings stock, about 1.8% of the company. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. We consider this fairly low insider ownership.

So What Do The Myer Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we'd like to see, the history of transactions imply that Myer Holdings insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Myer Holdings has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

Of course Myer Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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, 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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