This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In Definity Financial

We wouldn't blame Definity Financial Corporation (TSE:DFY) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Liam McFarlane, the Chief Risk & Actuarial Officer recently netted about CA$774k selling shares at an average price of CA$49.01. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 23%, which is notable but not too bad.

Check out our latest analysis for Definity Financial

Definity Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Liam McFarlane was the biggest sale of Definity Financial shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at below the current price (CA$49.34). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 23% of Liam McFarlane's holding.

In the last year Definity Financial insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Insider Ownership Of Definity Financial

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Definity Financial insiders own 1.0% of the company, worth about CA$58m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Definity Financial Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought Definity Financial stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Definity Financial has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore it.

Of course Definity Financial 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.