Bullish Sandvik Insiders Loaded Up On kr446.2m Of Stock

Quite a few insiders have dramatically grown their holdings in Sandvik AB (publ) (STO:SAND) over the past 12 months. An insider's optimism about the company's prospects is a positive sign.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for Sandvik

Sandvik Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Director Helena Stjernholm for kr412m worth of shares, at about kr219 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of kr205. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. 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.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 2.05m shares for kr446m. On the other hand they divested 89.29k shares, for kr20m. Overall, Sandvik insiders were net buyers during 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!

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.

Insiders At Sandvik Have Bought Stock Recently

There was some insider buying at Sandvik over the last quarter. Independent Director Andreas Nordbrandt purchased kr210k worth of shares in that period. It's great to see that insiders are only buying, not selling. But the amount invested in the last three months isn't enough for us too put much weight on it, as a single factor.

Does Sandvik Boast High 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. Insiders own 0.3% of Sandvik shares, worth about kr648m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Sandvik Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. Along with the high insider ownership, this analysis suggests that insiders are quite bullish about Sandvik. Looks promising! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Sandvik. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Sandvik and we suggest you have a look.

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.