Bullish Walt Disney Insiders Loaded Up On US$3.22m Of Stock

Quite a few insiders have dramatically grown their holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) over the past 12 months. An insider's optimism about the company's prospects is a positive sign.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for Walt Disney

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Walt Disney

The insider James Gorman made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$2.1m worth of shares at a price of US$106 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$92.51). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. 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 32.83k shares for US$3.2m. But they sold 5.40k shares for US$579k. In total, Walt Disney 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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Walt Disney Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last quarter, Walt Disney insiders have spent a meaningful amount on shares. Specifically, Independent Director Calvin McDonald bought US$1m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. This makes one think the business has some good points.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.03% of Walt Disney shares, worth about US$53m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Walt Disney Insiders?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Walt Disney insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. While conducting our analysis, we found that Walt Disney has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

Of course Walt Disney may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

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.