Group CFO & Executive Director Of NatWest Group Sold 49% Of Their Shares

We wouldn't blame NatWest Group plc (LON:NWG) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Katie Murray, the Group CFO & Executive Director recently netted about UK£2.1m selling shares at an average price of UK£3.92. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 49%, which is notable but not too bad.

Check out our latest analysis for NatWest Group

NatWest Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Katie Murray is the biggest insider sale of NatWest Group shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of UK£3.99. 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 49% of Katie Murray's holding.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 28.88k shares for UK£75k. But they sold 624.86k shares for UK£2.3m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of NatWest Group shares, than buying. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like NatWest Group 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

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.07% of NatWest Group shares, worth about UK£21m. 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 Do The NatWest Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold NatWest Group shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. On the plus side, NatWest Group makes money, and is growing profits. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! 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. For example - NatWest Group has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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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