Grafton Group Insider Lowered Holding By 16% During Last Year

Insiders were net sellers of Grafton Group plc's (LON:GFTU ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders sold more stock than they bought.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

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Grafton Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Group CFO & Director, David Arnold, sold UK£305k worth of shares at a price of UK£10.18 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is UK£9.02. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels. David Arnold was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 16.57k shares worth UK£147k. But they sold 40.00k shares for UK£407k. David Arnold divested 40.00k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of UK£10.17. 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!

See our latest analysis for Grafton Group

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Does Grafton Group Boast High 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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Grafton Group insiders own 12% of the company, worth about UK£204m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The Grafton Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Grafton Group insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. While we feel good about high insider ownership of Grafton Group, we can't say the same about the selling of shares. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

Of course Grafton Group 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.