Did PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ:PACW) Insiders Sell Shares?
We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ:PACW).
What Is Insider Selling?
Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock on the market. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.
Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Colombia 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 PacWest Bancorp
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At PacWest Bancorp
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when Executive VP & Vice Chairman James Pieczynski sold US$3.1m worth of shares at a price of US$51.14 per share. Although we don’t gain confidence from insider selling, we note that this large sale was at well above current price of US$32.37. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$1.8m for 43.93k shares. But insiders sold 102.50k shares worth US$5.3m. All up, insiders sold more shares in PacWest Bancorp than they bought, over the last year. The average sell price was around US$52.03. It is certainly not great to see that insiders have sold shares in the company. But we note that the selling, on average, was at well above the recently traded price of US$32.37. The chart below shows insider transactions over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Insiders at PacWest Bancorp Have Bought Stock Recently
Over the last three months, we’ve seen significant insider buying at PacWest Bancorp. Overall, 3 insiders shelled out US$1.6m for shares in the company — and none sold. This is a positive in our book as it implies some confidence.
Insider Ownership
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. PacWest Bancorp insiders own 1.3% of the company, currently worth about US$51m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About PacWest Bancorp Insiders?
It is good to see recent purchasing. On the other hand the transaction history, over the last year, isn’t so positive. While recent transactions indicate confidence in PacWest Bancorp, insiders don’t own enough of the company to overcome our cautiousness about the longer term transactions. So they seem pretty well aligned, overall. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for PacWest Bancorp.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.
