Have Insiders Sold ScanSource Shares Recently?

Anyone interested in ScanSource, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCSC) should probably be aware that the Senior EVP & CFO, Stephen Jones, recently divested US$212k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$42.30 each. That sale was 11% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

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ScanSource Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Founder, Michael Baur, sold US$1.3m worth of shares at a price of US$39.12 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$41.92. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. 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. We note that the biggest single sale was 73% of Michael Baur's holding.

ScanSource insiders didn't buy any shares over 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 ScanSource

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that ScanSource insiders own 2.0% of the company, worth about US$18m. 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 ScanSource Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought ScanSource stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But since ScanSource is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We'd practice some caution before buying! 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. For example - ScanSource has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

But note: ScanSource may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.