The Independent Director of MoneyGram International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGI), William Turner, Just Bought 105% More Shares

MoneyGram International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGI) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the Independent Director, William Turner, recently bought a whopping US$1.5m worth of stock, at a price of US$5.65. That purchase boosted their holding by 105%, which makes us wonder if the move was inspired by quietly confident deeply-felt optimism.

View our latest analysis for MoneyGram International

MoneyGram International Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent purchase by William Turner is the biggest insider purchase of MoneyGram International shares that we've seen in the last year. That implies that an insider found the current price of US$6.30 per share to be enticing. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. Happily, the MoneyGram International insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 354.15k shares worth US$2.0m. On the other hand they divested 49.19k shares, for US$495k. In total, MoneyGram International insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership of MoneyGram International

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 3.7% of MoneyGram International shares, worth about US$21m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At MoneyGram International Tell Us?

The recent insider purchases are heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest MoneyGram International insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing MoneyGram International. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for MoneyGram International you should be aware of, and 1 of them makes us a bit uncomfortable.

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, but not derivative transactions.

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.

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