Standard Motor Products Insiders Sell US$568k Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) shareholders might have a reason to worry after multiple insiders sold their shares over the last year. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for Standard Motor Products

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Standard Motor Products

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the EVP, Chief Commercial Officer & Member of the Office of Chief Executive, Dale Burks, sold US$136k worth of shares at a price of US$38.40 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$33.38. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

Standard Motor Products insiders didn't buy any shares 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!

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Does Standard Motor Products 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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Standard Motor Products insiders own about US$82m worth of shares. That equates to 11% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Standard Motor Products Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no Standard Motor Products insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Standard Motor Products insiders. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. While we like knowing 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. For example - Standard Motor Products has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

But note: Standard Motor Products may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.