AXIS Capital Holdings Insiders Placed Bullish Bets Worth US$853.5k

When a single insider purchases stock, it is typically not a major deal. However, when multiple insiders purchase stock, like in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited's (NYSE:AXS) instance, it's good news for shareholders.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for AXIS Capital Holdings

AXIS Capital Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Independent Director, Henry Smith, for US$526k worth of shares, at about US$72.90 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$88.77, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was only 13% of Henry Smith's holding. Henry Smith was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 13.43k shares for US$854k. On the other hand they divested 7.22k shares, for US$526k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by AXIS Capital Holdings insiders. 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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of AXIS Capital Holdings

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. AXIS Capital Holdings insiders own about US$48m worth of shares. That equates to 0.6% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About AXIS Capital Holdings Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders own shares in AXIS Capital Holdings and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in AXIS Capital Holdings, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.