Goran Bengtsson Bought 5,567% More Shares In Swedbank

Those following along with Swedbank AB (publ) (STO:SWED A) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by Goran Bengtsson, Director of the company, who spent a stonking kr42m on stock at an average price of kr249. That purchase boosted their holding by 5,567%, which makes us wonder if the move was inspired by quietly confident deeply-felt optimism.

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Swedbank Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent purchase by Goran Bengtsson is the biggest insider purchase of Swedbank shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of kr258. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. Happily, the Swedbank insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid kr68m for 290.94k shares. On the other hand they divested 1.50k shares, for kr328k. In total, Swedbank insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

See our latest analysis for Swedbank

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are 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. Our data indicates that Swedbank insiders own about kr81m worth of shares (which is 0.03% of the company). We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Swedbank Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Swedbank we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Swedbank (of which 1 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about.

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.