Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In CRH

We wouldn't blame CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Alan Connolly, the Interim Chief Financial Officer recently netted about US$1.1m selling shares at an average price of US$103. That sale reduced their total holding by 17% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

View our latest analysis for CRH

CRH Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Non-Executive Director Richard Fearon made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$3.0m worth of shares at a price of US$98.86 each. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$93.77 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. 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. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 64.75k shares worth US$6.1m. But insiders sold 30.33k shares worth US$3.1m. In total, CRH insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. 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!

CRH 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.

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. It appears that CRH insiders own 0.1% of the company, worth about US$72m. 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 CRH Insiders?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at CRH, in the last three months. In contrast, they appear keener if you look at the last twelve months. It's good to see insiders are shareholders. So we're not overly bothered by recent selling. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing CRH. To assist with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of CRH.

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.