40% Of This Coty Insider's Holdings Were Sold

Looking at Coty Inc.'s (NYSE:COTY ) insider transactions over the last year, we can see that insiders were net sellers. That is, there were more number of shares sold by insiders than there were purchased.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for Coty

Coty Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Independent Director, Robert Singer, for US$2.0m worth of shares, at about US$12.72 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$7.14. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it. Robert Singer was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

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!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership Of Coty

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Coty insiders own 5.9% of the company, currently worth about US$369m 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 Do The Coty Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Coty insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. While we feel good about high insider ownership of Coty, we can't say the same about the selling of shares. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Coty. When we did our research, we found 2 warning signs for Coty (1 is concerning!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

But note: Coty 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.