Selling Liberty Global Shares at a Lower Price Than Current Market Value May Have Been a Costly Mistake for Insiders

Liberty Global Ltd.'s (NASDAQ:LBTY.A) value has fallen 11% in the last week, but insiders who sold US$2.4m worth of stock over the last year have had less success. The average selling price of US$17.05 is still lower than the current share price, or in other words, insiders would have been better off holding on to their shares.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Liberty Global

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Independent Director, Miranda T. Curtis, sold US$764k worth of shares at a price of US$20.32 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$9.64). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Insiders in Liberty Global didn't buy any shares in 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!

Check out our latest analysis for Liberty Global

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Insider Ownership Of Liberty Global

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Liberty Global insiders own 11% of the company, currently worth about US$387m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Liberty Global Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. It's heartening that insiders own plenty of stock, but we'd like to see more insider buying, since the last year of Liberty Global insider transactions don't fill us with confidence. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. While conducting our analysis, we found that Liberty Global has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

But note: Liberty Global 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.