Yahoo Finance Intuit Insiders Sell US$11m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution
Over the past year, many Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
Check out our latest analysis for Intuit
Intuit Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive VP & GM of Global Business Solutions Group, Marianna Tessel, sold US$4.8m worth of shares at a price of US$553 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$627, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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 21% of Marianna Tessel's holding.
Intuit insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.
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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Intuit insiders own 2.7% of the company, currently worth about US$4.7b 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 Do The Intuit Insider Transactions Indicate?
There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. While we feel good about high insider ownership of Intuit, we can't say the same about the selling of shares. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Intuit, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
Of course Intuit may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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 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.
