68% Of This AB SKF Insider's Holdings Were Sold

Insiders were net sellers of AB SKF (publ)'s (STO:SKF B ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders sold more stock than they bought.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for AB SKF

AB SKF Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Independent Chairman, Hans Straberg, sold kr37m worth of shares at a price of kr237 per share. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of kr219. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. 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). Hans Straberg was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

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!

I will like AB SKF better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

AB SKF Insiders Are Selling The Stock

We've seen more insider selling than insider buying at AB SKF recently. In total, Independent Chairman Hans Straberg sold kr37m worth of shares in that time. On the flip side, President of Independent & Emerging Business Thomas Frost spent kr2.7m on purchasing shares (as mentioned above) . Because the selling vastly outweighs the buying, we'd say this is a somewhat bearish sign.

Does AB SKF Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Based on our data, AB SKF insiders have about 0.04% of the stock, worth approximately kr35m. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. We consider this fairly low insider ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At AB SKF Tell Us?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of AB SKF stock, than buying, in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But since AB SKF is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing AB SKF. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for AB SKF 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.