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Trade Alert: The Independent Chairman of the Board Of Manulife Financial Corporation (TSE:MFC), Donald Lindsay, Has Just Spent CA$2.7m Buying 500% More Shares

Those following along with Manulife Financial Corporation (TSE:MFC) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by Donald Lindsay, Independent Chairman of the Board of the company, who spent a stonking CA$2.7m on stock at an average price of CA$26.81. That purchase boosted their holding by 500%, which makes us wonder if the move was inspired by quietly confident deeply-felt optimism.

Check out our latest analysis for Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by Donald Lindsay was the biggest purchase of Manulife Financial shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was higher than CA$25.95 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. 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. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

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In the last twelve months insiders purchased 155.00k shares for CA$4.0m. But insiders sold 5.95k shares worth CA$142k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Manulife Financial insiders. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

insider-trading-volume
insider-trading-volume

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

Insider Ownership Of Manulife Financial

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. Insiders own 0.07% of Manulife Financial shares, worth about CA$36m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Manulife Financial Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Insiders likely see value in Manulife Financial shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Manulife Financial you should know about.

But note: Manulife Financial may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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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