Have Insiders Been Selling Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc. (NYSE:FBHS) Shares?
We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. 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 Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc. (NYSE:FBHS), 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.
We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.'
View our latest analysis for Fortune Brands Home & Security
Fortune Brands Home & Security Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the President of MasterBrand Cabinets Inc, David Randich, sold US$1.1m worth of shares at a price of US$53.00 per share. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$51.57. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).
Over the last year, we note insiders sold 34192 shares worth US$1.8m. In the last year Fortune Brands Home & Security insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
I will like Fortune Brands Home & Security better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Insiders at Fortune Brands Home & Security Have Sold Stock Recently
Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Fortune Brands Home & Security. In total, Director Allan MacKay sold US$504k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.
Does Fortune Brands Home & Security Boast High Insider Ownership?
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Fortune Brands Home & Security insiders own 0.7% of the company, worth about US$52m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Fortune Brands Home & Security Tell Us?
An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And even if we look to the last year, we didn't see any purchases. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd think twice before buying! Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Fortune Brands Home & Security, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
Of course Fortune Brands Home & Security 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, but not derivative transactions.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
