Have Insiders Sold Assured Guaranty Shares Recently?

We wouldn't blame Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Dominic Frederico, the Deputy Chairman recently netted about US$2.5m selling shares at an average price of US$80.01. However, that sale only accounted for 1.9% of their holding, so arguably it doesn't say much about their conviction.

See our latest analysis for Assured Guaranty

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Assured Guaranty

Notably, that recent sale by Deputy Chairman Dominic Frederico was not the only time they sold Assured Guaranty shares this year. They previously made an even bigger sale of -US$5.1m worth of shares at a price of US$92.83 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$77.93. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

In the last year Assured Guaranty insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

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. Assured Guaranty insiders own 5.5% of the company, currently worth about US$225m 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.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Assured Guaranty Insiders?

An insider hasn't bought Assured Guaranty stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. On the plus side, Assured Guaranty makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. For example, Assured Guaranty has 4 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) we think you should know about.

Of course Assured Guaranty 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.