One White Mountains Insurance Group Insider Raised Stake By 77% In Previous Year

Looking at White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd.'s (NYSE:WTM ) insider transactions over the last year, we can see that insiders were net buyers. That is, there were more number of shares purchased by insiders than there were sold.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for White Mountains Insurance Group

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At White Mountains Insurance Group

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Chairman of the Board Weston Hicks bought US$1.5m worth of shares at a price of US$1,485 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of US$1,820. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

White Mountains Insurance Group is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

Does White Mountains Insurance Group Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. White Mountains Insurance Group insiders own 3.1% of the company, currently worth about US$143m 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 White Mountains Insurance Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded White Mountains Insurance Group shares in the last quarter. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Judging from their transactions, and high insider ownership, White Mountains Insurance Group insiders feel good about the company's future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. While conducting our analysis, we found that White Mountains Insurance Group has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

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.