Jardine Matheson Holdings Group Finance Director & Executive Director Acquires 24% More Stock

Those following along with Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited (SGX:J36) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by Graham Baker, Group Finance Director & Executive Director of the company, who spent a stonking US$990k on stock at an average price of US$43.05. Aside from being a solid chunk in its own right, the deft move also saw their holding increase by some 24%.

View our latest analysis for Jardine Matheson Holdings

Jardine Matheson Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Executive Chairman, Benjamin Keswick, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$10.0m worth of shares at a price of US$37.01 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$43.85, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. It is worth noting that this sale was only 2.2% of Benjamin Keswick's holding. Benjamin Keswick was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$5.2m for 142.70k shares. On the other hand they divested 370.48k shares, for US$14m. Benjamin Keswick divested 370.48k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$36.98. 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!

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Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Jardine Matheson Holdings insiders own 6.8% of the company, currently worth about US$871m 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 Jardine Matheson Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. On the other hand the transaction history, over the last year, isn't so positive. The high levels of insider ownership, and the recent buying by an insider suggests they are well aligned and optimistic. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Jardine Matheson Holdings you should be aware of.

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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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