Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In Alimentation Couche-Tard

We wouldn't blame Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (TSE:ATD) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Richard Fortin, the Co-Founder & Corporate Director recently netted about CA$12m selling shares at an average price of CA$74.02. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 2.1%.

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Alimentation Couche-Tard Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Richard Fortin was the biggest sale of Alimentation Couche-Tard shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of CA$73.64. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 18.50k shares for CA$1.4m. On the other hand they divested 160.60k shares, for CA$12m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Alimentation Couche-Tard shares, than buying. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Check out our latest analysis for Alimentation Couche-Tard

I will like Alimentation Couche-Tard better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of Alimentation Couche-Tard

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Alimentation Couche-Tard insiders own 4.5% of the company, worth about CA$3.1b. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Alimentation Couche-Tard Tell Us?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of Alimentation Couche-Tard stock, than buying, in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Alimentation Couche-Tard. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Alimentation Couche-Tard and we suggest you have a look.

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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.