Yahoo Finance Are Insiders Selling MAXIMUS, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) Stock?
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It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So before you buy or sell MAXIMUS, Inc. (NYSE:MMS), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
What Is Insider Buying?
It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.'
See our latest analysis for MAXIMUS
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At MAXIMUS
The Vice Chairman & Senior Advisor to the CEO, Richard Montoni, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$2.2m worth of shares at a price of US$72.03 each. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$72.61, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling on market, 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. This single sale was just 6.5% of Richard Montoni's stake.
In the last twelve months insiders netted US$5.6m for 81117 shares sold. MAXIMUS insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
I will like MAXIMUS 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 MAXIMUS
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. Insiders own 1.3% of MAXIMUS shares, worth about US$59m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At MAXIMUS Tell Us?
The fact that there have been no MAXIMUS insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. Still, the insider transactions at MAXIMUS in the last 12 months are not very heartening. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
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.
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If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
