A number of insiders bought Spectris plc (LON:SXS) stock last year, which is great news for shareholders

Generally, when a single insider buys stock, it is usually not a big deal. However, when several insiders are buying, like in the case of Spectris plc (LON:SXS), it sends a favourable message to the company's 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.

See our latest analysis for Spectris

Spectris Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when CEO & Executive Director Andrew Heath bought UK£150k worth of shares at a price of UK£30.19 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (UK£40.47), we still think insider buying is a positive. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

Spectris insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Spectris is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership of Spectris

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. Our data suggests Spectris insiders own 0.06% of the company, worth about UK£2.5m. We consider this fairly low insider ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Spectris Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no Spectris insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. The transactions are fine but it'd be more encouraging if Spectris insiders bought more shares in the company. While we like knowing 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. Our analysis shows 2 warning signs for Spectris (1 is significant!) and we strongly recommend you look at them before investing.

Of course Spectris 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, but not derivative transactions.

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.

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