Bullish Rentokil Initial plc (LON:RTO) insiders filled their treasuries with UK£833k worth of stock over last year

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

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for Rentokil Initial

Rentokil Initial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The CEO & Executive Director Andrew Ransom made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£242k worth of shares at a price of UK£5.38 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being UK£5.29). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

In the last twelve months Rentokil Initial insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Rentokil Initial is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Does Rentokil Initial Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Rentokil Initial insiders own 0.1% of the company, worth about UK£11m. 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 Rentokil Initial Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders own shares in Rentokil Initial and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for Rentokil Initial that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

But note: Rentokil Initial may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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, 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.