Starwood Property Trust Sees Insider Stock Selling

Viewing insider transactions for Starwood Property Trust, Inc.'s (NYSE:STWD ) over the last year, we see that insiders were net sellers. This means that a larger number of shares were sold by insiders in relation to shares purchased.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Starwood Property Trust

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Starwood Property Trust

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the President & MD, Jeffrey DiModica, for US$613k worth of shares, at about US$20.48 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of US$20.80. 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was only 2.9% of Jeffrey DiModica's holding. Jeffrey DiModica was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Does Starwood Property Trust Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Starwood Property Trust insiders own about US$325m worth of shares (which is 5.0% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Starwood Property Trust Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. While we feel good about high insider ownership of Starwood Property Trust, we can't say the same about the selling of shares. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Starwood Property Trust and we suggest you have a look.

Of course Starwood Property Trust 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.

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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.