Grainger plc (LON:GRI) insiders who bought shares over the past year were rewarded handsomely last week. The stock rose 7.8%, resulting in a UK£129m rise in the company's market capitalisation. As a result, their original purchase of UK£51k worth of stock is now worth UK£56k.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for Grainger

Grainger Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Non-Executive Director Robert William Wilkinson made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£51k worth of shares at a price of UK£2.18 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of UK£2.40. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider bought shares at close to current prices. Robert William Wilkinson was the only individual insider to buy during 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! insider-trading-volume

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this freelist of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership

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. Our data suggests Grainger insiders own 0.1% of the company, worth about UK£2.2m. I generally like to see higher levels of ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Grainger Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Grainger shares in the last quarter. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think Grainger insiders are doubting the company. 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, Grainger has 3 warning signs (and 2 which can't be ignored) we think you should know about.



But note: Grainger may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this freelist 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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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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