Have Insiders Been Buying Imperial Brands PLC (LON:IMB) Shares?
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We’ve lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. On the other hand, we’d be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So before you buy or sell Imperial Brands PLC (LON:IMB), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
What Is Insider Selling?
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. 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 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’.
View our latest analysis for Imperial Brands
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Imperial Brands
CEO & Executive Director Alison Cooper made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£493k worth of shares at a price of UK£23.94 each. So it’s clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. We generally consider it a positive if insiders have been buying on market, even if the share price has increased a bit since then.
In the last twelve months insiders paid UK£1.1m for 44.94k shares purchased. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Imperial Brands insiders. They paid about UK£24.39 on average. These transactions show that insiders have confidence to invest their own money in the stock, albeit at slightly below the recent price of UK£26.34. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. 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.
Insiders at Imperial Brands Have Bought Stock Recently
Over the last quarter, Imperial Brands insiders have spent a meaningful amount on shares. Not only was there no selling that we can see, but they collectively bought UK£884k worth of shares. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook.
Does Imperial Brands Boast High Insider Ownership?
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Imperial Brands insiders own about UK£31m worth of shares. That equates to 0.1% of the company. 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 Imperial Brands Tell Us?
It is good to see recent purchasing. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Imperial Brands insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
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.
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.
