Director Of Priority Technology Holdings Sold 54% Of Their Shares

Some Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRTH) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Director, John Priore, recently sold a substantial US$35m worth of stock at a price of US$7.44 per share. That diminished their holding by a very significant 54%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.

View our latest analysis for Priority Technology Holdings

Priority Technology Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by John Priore is the biggest insider sale of Priority Technology Holdings shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$9.03). 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. This single sale was 54% of John Priore's stake.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$2.2m for 608.19k shares. On the other hand they divested 5.85m shares, for US$41m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Priority Technology Holdings than they bought, 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!

I will like Priority Technology Holdings 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.

Does Priority Technology Holdings 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Priority Technology Holdings insiders own 75% of the company, worth about US$549m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The Priority Technology Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Priority Technology Holdings you should be aware of, and 1 of them is potentially serious.

Of course Priority Technology Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.