Yahoo Finance Selling US$22m worth of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) stock at high prices would have gotten insiders a handsome reward
Despite the fact that Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) stock rose 3.9% last week, insiders who sold US$22m worth of stock in the previous 12 months are likely to be better off. Selling at an average price of US$518, which is higher than the current price might have been the right call as holding on to stock would have meant their investment would be worth less now than it was at the time of sale.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
Check out our latest analysis for Intuit
Intuit Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
The Executive VP and Chief People & Places Officer, Laura Fennell, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$9.1m worth of shares at a price of US$611 each. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$408. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.
Intuit insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Intuit Insiders Are Selling The Stock
The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Intuit shares. In total, insider Varun Krishna sold US$1.1m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.
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. It's great to see that Intuit insiders own 2.8% of the company, worth about US$3.2b. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.
So What Do The Intuit Insider Transactions Indicate?
An insider hasn't bought Intuit stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. For example - Intuit has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.
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, 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.
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