Are Insiders Selling People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT) Stock?
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 before you buy or sell People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
What Is Insider Buying?
It’s quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.
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.’
Check out our latest analysis for People’s United Financial
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People’s United Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when Robert Trautmann sold US$596k worth of shares at a price of US$19.86 per share. While the sale doesn’t make us feel confident, we do note it was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$15.38. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.
Over the last year, we note insiders sold 148.66k shares worth US$2.7m. All up, insiders sold more shares in People’s United Financial than they bought, over the last year. The average sell price was around US$18.19. It’s not particularly great to see insiders were selling shares around current prices (shares recently traded around US$15.38). Since insiders sell for many reasons, we wouldn’t put too much weight on it. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Insiders at People’s United Financial Have Sold Stock Recently
The last three months saw significant insider selling at People’s United Financial. In total, David Norton sold US$479k 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 People’s United Financial Boast High Insider Ownership?
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 0.7% of People’s United Financial shares, worth about US$41m. We’ve certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About People’s United Financial Insiders?
An insider sold stock recently, but they haven’t been buying. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn’t show any insider buying. But since People’s United Financial is profitable and growing, we’re not too worried by this. Insiders own shares, but we’re still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We’d think twice before buying! 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.
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.
