Chief Marketing Officer Of Sage Group Sold 73% Of Their Shares

Some The Sage Group plc (LON:SGE) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chief Marketing Officer, Catherine Keers, recently sold a substantial UK£1.7m worth of stock at a price of UK£13.07 per share. Probably the most concerning element of the whole transaction is that the disposal amounted to 73% of their entire holding.

View our latest analysis for Sage Group

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Sage Group

In fact, the recent sale by Catherine Keers was the biggest sale of Sage Group shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of UK£13.16. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was 73% of Catherine Keers's holding.

In total, Sage Group insiders sold more than they bought 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!

I will like Sage Group better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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. Insiders own 0.2% of Sage Group shares, worth about UK£28m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Sage Group Tell Us?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But it is good to see that Sage Group is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. To assist with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Sage Group.

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.