This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In Global Payments

Some Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chief Administrative Officer, David Green, recently sold a substantial US$2.0m worth of stock at a price of US$105 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 23% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

View our latest analysis for Global Payments

Global Payments Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by David Green is the biggest insider sale of Global Payments shares that we've seen in the last year. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$104. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Global Payments 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!

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Does Global Payments Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Global Payments insiders own 0.7% of the company, currently worth about US$177m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Global Payments Tell Us?

Insiders sold Global Payments shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But since Global Payments is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. While conducting our analysis, we found that Global Payments has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore it.

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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.