Yahoo Finance Insiders who bought this year lost AU$248k as Magellan Financial Group Limited (ASX:MFG) sheds AU$503m in value
Insiders who acquired AU$471k worth of Magellan Financial Group Limited's (ASX:MFG) stock at an average price of AU$37.58 in the past 12 months may be dismayed by the recent 13% price decline. Insiders purchase with the hope of seeing their investments increase in value over time. However, due to recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth AU$222k, which is not great.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
Check out our latest analysis for Magellan Financial Group
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Magellan Financial Group
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by insider Brett Cairns for AU$372k worth of shares, at about AU$37.20 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of AU$17.74. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.
Magellan Financial Group insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. 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!
Magellan Financial Group is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
Insider Ownership
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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Magellan Financial Group insiders own about AU$1.1b worth of shares (which is 35% 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 Magellan Financial Group Tell Us?
The fact that there have been no Magellan Financial Group insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like Magellan Financial Group insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company's shares) and optimistic for the future. 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. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Magellan Financial Group has 4 warning signs (1 is a bit concerning!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
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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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.