William George Bought 1.1% More Shares In Sprott

Sprott Inc. (TSE:SII) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the CEO & Director, William George, recently bought a whopping CA$969k worth of stock, at a price of CA$60.57. There's no denying a buy of that magnitude suggests conviction in a brighter future, although we do note that proportionally it only increased their holding by 1.1%.

See our latest analysis for Sprott

Sprott Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the insider, Arthur Rule, for CA$4.3m worth of shares, at about CA$57.20 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (CA$61.11). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 2.8% of Arthur Rule's holding.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Sprott than they bought, over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Does Sprott Boast High 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. Insiders own 7.6% of Sprott shares, worth about CA$119m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Sprott Tell Us?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Sprott, in the last three months. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. But since Sprott is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. 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. 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. To assist with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Sprott.

But note: Sprott 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.