Heidrick & Struggles International Insiders Got A Good Deal Selling At US$30.05

While it’s been a great week for Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSII) shareholders after stock gained 14%, company insiders might have missed out on those gains after selling stock earlier this year. They could have sold their shares at much higher prices and gotten a better return on their investment if they had waited.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

See our latest analysis for Heidrick & Struggles International

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Heidrick & Struggles International

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive VP & CFO, Mark Harris, sold US$222k worth of shares at a price of US$31.77 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$34.53, 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. 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. This single sale was just 15% of Mark Harris's stake. Mark Harris was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

Mark Harris divested 13.00k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$30.05. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Heidrick & Struggles International Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Heidrick & Struggles International. In total, Executive VP & CFO Mark Harris sold US$222k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

Insider Ownership Of Heidrick & Struggles International

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. Insiders own 2.4% of Heidrick & Struggles International shares, worth about US$16m. 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 Heidrick & Struggles International Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought Heidrick & Struggles International stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. While conducting our analysis, we found that Heidrick & Struggles International has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

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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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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.

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