Yahoo Finance Have Insiders Been Selling General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Shares This Year?
It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS).
What Is Insider Buying?
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
We don’t think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Columbia University study found that ‘insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers’.
Check out our latest analysis for General Mills
General Mills Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Chairman & CEO Jeffrey Harmening made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$253k worth of shares at a price of US$42.18 each. That means that even when the share price was higher, an insider wanted to purchase shares. It’s very possible they regret the purchase, but it’s more likely they are bullish about the company. We generally consider it a positive if insiders have been buying on market, even above the current price.
Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 7.00k shares worth US$300k. But they sold 7.27k for US$329k. In total, General Mills insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. The sellers received a price of around US$45.30, on average. It’s not particularly great to see insiders were selling shares around current prices. While some insiders have decided to take some money off the table, we wouldn’t put too much weight on this fact. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Insider Ownership of General Mills
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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that General Mills insiders own 0.3% of the company, worth about US$75m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.
What Might The Insider Transactions At General Mills Tell Us?
It doesn’t really mean much that no insider has traded General Mills shares in the last quarter. Still, the insider transactions at General Mills in the last 12 months are not very heartening. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in General Mills, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
Of course General Mills may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
