Bullish Glanbia Insiders Loaded Up On US$1.74m Of Stock

Multiple insiders secured a larger position in Glanbia plc (ISE:GL9) shares over the last 12 months. This is reassuring as this suggests that insiders have increased optimism about the company's prospects.

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 Glanbia

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Glanbia

The CFO & Executive Director Mark Garvey made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for €625k worth of shares at a price of €18.38 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being €15.46). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. 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. We note that Mark Garvey was both the biggest buyer and the biggest seller.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 96.19k shares for €1.7m. But they sold 37.80k shares for €695k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Glanbia insiders. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insiders At Glanbia Have Bought Stock Recently

It's good to see that Glanbia insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. Not only was there no selling that we can see, but they collectively bought €195k worth of shares. This makes one think the business has some good points.

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Glanbia insiders own about €23m worth of shares. That equates to 0.6% of the company. 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 Do The Glanbia Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see recent purchasing. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Glanbia insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Glanbia and understanding it should be part of your investment process.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.