CEO of Discovery's South African Operations Hylton Kallner Sold A Bunch Of Shares In Discovery

Some Discovery Limited (JSE:DSY) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the CEO of Discovery's South African Operations, Hylton Kallner, recently sold a substantial R15m worth of stock at a price of R199 per share. That diminished their holding by a very significant 77%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.

This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Discovery

The Executive Director, Barry Swartzberg, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for R161m worth of shares at a price of R215 each. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of R201. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

In the last year Discovery insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

View our latest analysis for Discovery

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Discovery insiders own about R14b worth of shares (which is 10% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Discovery Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought Discovery stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But since Discovery is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Discovery. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Discovery you should be aware of.

But note: Discovery 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.