CRH Insiders Placed Bullish Bets Worth US$5.84m

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

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for CRH

CRH Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Group Chief Executive & Executive Director, Albert Manifold, sold US$2.8m worth of shares at a price of US$82.50 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$102). When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 39% of Albert Manifold's stake.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 75.00k shares worth US$5.8m. On the other hand they divested 38.49k shares, for US$3.2m. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by CRH insiders. 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!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

Insiders At CRH Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at CRH. Independent Non-Executive Director Siobhan Talbot spent US$188k on stock, and there wasn't any selling. This is a positive in our book as it implies some confidence.

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 0.04% of CRH shares, worth about US$27m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The CRH Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest CRH insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. While conducting our analysis, we found that CRH has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

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.