Bullish TriMas Insiders Loaded Up On US$107.5m Of Stock

Over the last year, a good number of insiders have significantly increased their holdings in TriMas Corporation (NASDAQ:TRS). This is encouraging because it indicates that insiders are more optimistic about the company's prospects.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

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TriMas Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by insider Shawn Sedaghat for US$84m worth of shares, at about US$27.73 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$23.62). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 4.22m shares for US$107m. But they sold 9.72k shares for US$247k. Overall, TriMas insiders were net buyers during the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

View our latest analysis for TriMas

TriMas is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insiders At TriMas Have Bought Stock Recently

There has been significantly more insider buying, than selling, at TriMas, over the last three months. Insiders spent US$22m on shares. But we did see insider Scott Mell sell shares worth US$50k. Insiders have spent more buying shares than they have selling, so on balance we think they are are probably optimistic.

Insider Ownership Of TriMas

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that TriMas insiders own 20% of the company, worth about US$193m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About TriMas Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Once you factor in the high insider ownership, it certainly seems like insiders are positive about TriMas. That's what I like to see! 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. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for TriMas (of which 1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) you should know about.

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.