Insiders At Boston Beer Company Sold US$9.7m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

Over the past year, many The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Boston Beer Company

Boston Beer Company Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Founder, Samuel Calagione, for US$9.7m worth of shares, at about US$366 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$273. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last year Boston Beer Company insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Does Boston Beer Company 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Boston Beer Company insiders own 23% of the company, currently worth about US$758m based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Boston Beer Company Insiders?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Boston Beer Company shares in the last quarter. While we feel good about high insider ownership of Boston Beer Company, we can't say the same about the selling of shares. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Boston Beer Company, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

But note: Boston Beer Company 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.

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