14% Of This Tate & Lyle Insider's Holdings Were Sold

Looking at Tate & Lyle plc's (LON:TATE ) insider transactions over the last year, we can see that insiders were net sellers. That is, there were more number of shares sold by insiders than there were purchased.

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.

View our latest analysis for Tate & Lyle

Tate & Lyle Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Rowan Adams, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£316k worth of shares at a price of UK£7.88 each. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of UK£6.00. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price. Rowan Adams was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Does Tate & Lyle Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.7% of Tate & Lyle shares, worth about UK£16m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Tate & Lyle Insiders?

The fact that there have been no Tate & Lyle insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. Still, the insider transactions at Tate & Lyle in the last 12 months are not very heartening. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of 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. For example - Tate & Lyle has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

Of course Tate & Lyle 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.