Did Naspers Limited (JSE:NPN) Insiders Sell Shares?

We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So before you buy or sell Naspers Limited (JSE:NPN), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Buying?

Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock in the company. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.

We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise'.

Check out our latest analysis for Naspers

Naspers Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The CEO & Executive Director, Bob van Dijk, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for R996m worth of shares at a price of R2,400 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (R3,112). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was only 46% of Bob van Dijk's holding.

Insiders in Naspers 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 click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

I will like Naspers better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership of Naspers

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Naspers insiders own about R21b worth of shares (which is 1.6% 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.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Naspers Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no Naspers insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the Naspers insiders selling. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Naspers, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

But note: Naspers 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, but not derivative transactions.

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