Dollar General Insiders Added US$1.90m Of Stock To Their Holdings

Multiple insiders secured a larger position in Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) shares over the last 12 months. This is reassuring as this suggests that insiders have increased optimism about the company's prospects.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

See our latest analysis for Dollar General

Dollar General Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Chairman of the Board Michael Calbert bought US$1.3m worth of shares at a price of US$156 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$145. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$1.9m for 12.97k shares. But they sold 8.92k shares for US$1.4m. In total, Dollar General insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Dollar General Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Dollar General. In total, insiders sold US$1.4m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Insider Ownership Of Dollar General

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 0.3% of Dollar General shares, worth about US$87m. 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 Dollar General Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. But we take heart from prior transactions. And insiders do own shares. So we're not overly bothered by recent selling. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. For example - Dollar General has 4 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

But note: Dollar General 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.