Smiths Group Insiders Added UK£564.1k Of Stock To Their Holdings

It is usually uneventful when a single insider buys stock. However, When quite a few insiders buy shares, as it happened in Smiths Group plc's (LON:SMIN) case, it's fantastic news for shareholders.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

We've discovered 1 warning sign about Smiths Group. View them for free.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Smiths Group

The Independent Non Executive Chairman Steven Williams made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£338k worth of shares at a price of UK£16.88 each. That implies that an insider found the current price of UK£17.76 per share to be enticing. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. The good news for Smiths Group share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.

While Smiths Group insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. 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!

See our latest analysis for Smiths Group

Smiths Group is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Have Smiths Group Insiders Traded Recently?

Over the last three months, we've seen a bit of insider buying at Smiths Group. Insiders shelled out UK£7.4k for shares in that time. It's great to see that insiders are only buying, not selling. However, in this case the amount invested recently is quite small.

Does Smiths Group Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. From our data, it seems that Smiths Group insiders own 0.07% of the company, worth about UK£4.2m. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

So What Do The Smiths Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insider purchases may have been minimal, in the last three months, but there was no selling at all. The net investment is not enough to encourage us much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think Smiths Group insiders are doubting the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. While conducting our analysis, we found that Smiths Group has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore it.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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.