Possible Bearish Signals With ESCO Technologies Insiders Disposing Stock

A number of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) insiders sold their shares in the last year, which may have raised concerns among investors. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

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.

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ESCO Technologies Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Independent Director, Vinod Khilnani, for US$473k worth of shares, at about US$120 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$193, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 15% of Vinod Khilnani's holding.

In the last year ESCO Technologies insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!

View our latest analysis for ESCO Technologies

I will like ESCO Technologies better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. ESCO Technologies insiders own about US$27m worth of shares. That equates to 0.5% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At ESCO Technologies Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded ESCO Technologies shares in the last quarter. Our analysis of ESCO Technologies insider transactions leaves us cautious. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in ESCO Technologies, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.