Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In Prosus

We wouldn't blame Prosus N.V. (AMS:PRX) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Jacobus Petrus Bekker, the Non-independent Non-Executive Chair recently netted about €157m selling shares at an average price of €40.30. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 20%, which is notable but not too bad.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Prosus

In fact, the recent sale by Jacobus Petrus Bekker was the biggest sale of Prosus shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of €39.29. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

In total, Prosus insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. 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!

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Insider Ownership Of Prosus

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Prosus insiders own 0.9% of the company, currently worth about €817m based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The Prosus Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 3 warning signs for Prosus and we suggest you have a look.

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.