Group CFO & Executive Director Of Hiscox Sold 27% Of Their Shares

We'd be surprised if Hiscox Ltd (LON:HSX) shareholders haven't noticed that the Group CFO & Executive Director, Paul Cooper, recently sold UK£260k worth of stock at UK£12.43 per share. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 27% in their holding.

View our latest analysis for Hiscox

Hiscox Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Paul Cooper is the biggest insider sale of Hiscox shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of UK£11.89. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 20.39k shares for UK£210k. But insiders sold 20.96k shares worth UK£260k. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does Hiscox 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 0.5% of Hiscox shares, worth about UK£21m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Hiscox Insider Transactions Indicate?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Hiscox, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But it is good to see that Hiscox is growing earnings. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To help with this, we've discovered 4 warning signs (2 are a bit concerning!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Hiscox.

But note: Hiscox 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 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.