Yahoo Finance Chairman & CEO of George Weston Picks Up 27% More Stock
Those following along with George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by Galen Weston, Chairman & CEO of the company, who spent a stonking CA$25m on stock at an average price of CA$196. Not only is that a big swing, but it increased their holding size by 27%, which is definitely great to see.
View our latest analysis for George Weston
George Weston Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In fact, the recent purchase by Galen Weston was the biggest purchase of George Weston shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of CA$195. 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.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid CA$37m for 204.31k shares. But they sold 17.31k shares for CA$3.3m. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by George Weston insiders. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
George Weston is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.
Insider Ownership
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that George Weston insiders own 1.2% of the company, worth about CA$305m. 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 George Weston Insider Transactions Indicate?
It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest George Weston insiders are well aligned, and quite possibly think the share price is too low. Nice! 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. Be aware that George Weston is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is a bit unpleasant...
Of course George Weston 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.
