Have Insiders Sold Silgan Holdings Shares Recently?

Some Silgan Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SLGN) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Non-Executive Chairman, Anthony Allott, recently sold a substantial US$4.5m worth of stock at a price of US$55.22 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 18% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

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Silgan Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the President, Adam Greenlee, for US$6.8m worth of shares, at about US$54.73 per share. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$55.07, 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. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was 68% of Adam Greenlee's holding.

Insiders in Silgan Holdings didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Check out our latest analysis for Silgan Holdings

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Does Silgan Holdings Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Silgan Holdings insiders own 17% of the company, currently worth about US$1.0b 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 Does This Data Suggest About Silgan Holdings Insiders?

Insiders sold Silgan Holdings shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Silgan Holdings you should be aware of, and 1 of them doesn't sit too well with us.

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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.