Kelly Marshall Is The Independent Chairman of Granite Real Estate Investment Trust (TSE:GRT.UN) And They Just Sold 100% Of Their Shares

Anyone interested in Granite Real Estate Investment Trust (TSE:GRT.UN) should probably be aware that the Independent Chairman, Kelly Marshall, recently divested CA$250k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of CA$83.25 each. In particular, we note that the sale equated to a 100% reduction in their position size, which doesn't exactly instill confidence.

Check out our latest analysis for Granite Real Estate Investment Trust

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Granite Real Estate Investment Trust

Notably, that recent sale by Kelly Marshall is the biggest insider sale of Granite Real Estate Investment Trust shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of CA$83.61, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was 100% of Kelly Marshall's holding.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 14.60k shares for CA$1.2m. But they sold 3.00k shares for CA$250k. Overall, Granite Real Estate Investment Trust insiders were net buyers during the last year. They paid about CA$80.68 on average. These transactions show that insiders have confidence to invest their own money in the stock, albeit at slightly below the recent price. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. 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

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 0.3% of Granite Real Estate Investment Trust shares, worth about CA$15m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Granite Real Estate Investment Trust Tell Us?

The stark truth for Granite Real Estate Investment Trust is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. On the other hand, the insider transactions over the last year are encouraging. It's good to see insiders are shareholders. So we're happy enough to look past some selling. 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. Be aware that Granite Real Estate Investment Trust is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is a bit concerning...

Of course Granite Real Estate Investment Trust 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, but not derivative transactions.

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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.