Harley-Davidson Insiders Added US$1.1m Of Stock To Their Holdings
Over the last year, a good number of insiders have significantly increased their holdings in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG). This is encouraging because it indicates that insiders are more optimistic about the company's prospects.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
Check out our latest analysis for Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Chairman Jochen Zeitz for US$1.0m worth of shares, at about US$38.94 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$37.30. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$1.1m for 27.09k shares. But insiders sold 2.24k shares worth US$112k. In total, Harley-Davidson insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and 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!
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
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Harley-Davidson insiders own 0.6% of the company, worth about US$31m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Harley-Davidson Insiders?
The fact that there have been no Harley-Davidson insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Harley-Davidson insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. When we did our research, we found 3 warning signs for Harley-Davidson (2 don't sit too well with us!) that we believe deserve your full attention.
If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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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