Insider Stock Buying Reaches US$749.4k On John Wiley & Sons
Multiple insiders secured a larger position in John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY) shares over the last 12 months. This is reassuring as this suggests that insiders have increased optimism about the company's prospects.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
Check out our latest analysis for John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Notably, that recent purchase by Matthew Kissner is the biggest insider purchase of John Wiley & Sons shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is US$31.07. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. Happily, the John Wiley & Sons insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.
Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 24.63k shares worth US$749k. But they sold 17.55k shares for US$734k. Overall, John Wiley & Sons insiders were net buyers during the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
John Wiley & Sons is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
John Wiley & Sons Insiders Bought Stock Recently
It's good to see that John Wiley & Sons insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. Overall, two insiders shelled out US$654k for shares in the company -- and none sold. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook.
Does John Wiley & Sons Boast High 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. John Wiley & Sons insiders own 7.3% of the company, currently worth about US$125m 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 Do The John Wiley & Sons Insider Transactions Indicate?
It is good to see recent purchasing. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest John Wiley & Sons insiders are well aligned, and quite possibly think the share price is too low. Nice! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for John Wiley & Sons that deserve your attention before buying any shares.
Of course John Wiley & Sons 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.
