One Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) insider upped their stake by 2.1% in the previous year
Insiders were net buyers of Standard Motor Products, Inc.'s (NYSE:SMP ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders bought more stock than they sold.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
See our latest analysis for Standard Motor Products
Standard Motor Products Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Chairman of the Board Lawrence Sills bought US$578k worth of shares at a price of US$43.76 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$37.82 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. Lawrence Sills was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.
Lawrence Sills bought a total of 28.71k shares over the year at an average price of US$41.86. 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!
Standard Motor Products is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Standard Motor Products Insiders Are Selling The Stock
We have seen a bit of insider selling at Standard Motor Products, over the last three months. Chief Human Resources Officer Thomas Tesoro only netted US$36k selling shares, in that period. It's not great to see insider selling, nor the lack of recent buyers. But the amount sold isn't enough for us to put any weight on it.
Does Standard Motor Products 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. It appears that Standard Motor Products insiders own 10.0% of the company, worth about US$81m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Standard Motor Products Tell Us?
We did not see any insider buying in the last three months, but we did see selling. However, the sales are not big enough to concern us at all. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Standard Motor Products insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Our analysis shows 3 warning signs for Standard Motor Products (2 are a bit concerning!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.
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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