Should You Review Recent Insider Transactions At Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC)?

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So before you buy or sell Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise'.

Check out our latest analysis for Brunswick

Brunswick Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The insider, Randall Altman, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$244k worth of shares at a price of US$65.06 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$97.12. 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 18% of Randall Altman's stake. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Randall Altman.

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

Does Brunswick Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 1.0% of Brunswick shares, worth about US$72m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Brunswick Insiders?

The fact that there have been no Brunswick insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. Still, the insider transactions at Brunswick in the last 12 months are not very heartening. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Brunswick you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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, but not derivative transactions.

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