Bank of Montreal Insiders Placed Bullish Bets Worth CA$3.34m

In the last year, multiple insiders have substantially increased their holdings of Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) stock, indicating that insiders' optimism about the company's prospects has increased.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Bank of Montreal

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Bank of Montreal

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Chairman of the Board George Cope bought CA$2.2m worth of shares at a price of CA$129 per share. That implies that an insider found the current price of CA$132 per share to be enticing. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider purchases were made at close to current prices.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 25.82k shares for CA$3.3m. But insiders sold 500.00 shares worth CA$58k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Bank of Montreal insiders. 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!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Bank of Montreal insiders own about CA$33m worth of shares. That equates to 0.04% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Bank of Montreal Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Bank of Montreal shares in the last quarter. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Insiders own shares in Bank of Montreal and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 3 warning signs for Bank of Montreal and we suggest you have a look.

Of course Bank of Montreal 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 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.