Saputo's Joey Saputo Acquires 882% More Stock

Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that insider Joey Saputo recently bought a whopping CA$34m worth of stock, at a price of CA$24.32. That increased their holding by a full 882%, which arguably implies the sort of confidence required for a shy sweet-natured nerd to ask the most popular kid in the school to go out on a date.

View our latest analysis for Saputo

Saputo Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the insider, Francesco Saputo, for CA$1.1b worth of shares, at about CA$29.12 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (CA$24.33). So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 27.96m shares worth CA$800m. But insiders sold 40.00m shares worth CA$1.1b. All up, insiders sold more shares in Saputo than they bought, over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Saputo insiders own 39% of the company, currently worth about CA$4.0b 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.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Saputo Insiders?

The recent insider purchases are heartening. However, the longer term transactions are not so encouraging. Overall, we'd prefer see a more sustained buying from directors, but with a significant insider holding and more recent purchases, Saputo insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Saputo you should know about.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.