Viewing insider transactions for RIT Capital Partners Plc's (LON:RCP ) over the last year, we see that insiders were net sellers. This means that a larger number of shares were sold by insiders in relation to shares purchased.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
RIT Capital Partners Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Non-Independent Non-Executive Director, Hannah Rothschild, sold UK£72m worth of shares at a price of UK£26.85 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of UK£26.15. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Hannah Rothschild.
You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
View our latest analysis for RIT Capital Partners
If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).
RIT Capital Partners Insiders Are Selling The Stock
There was substantially more insider selling, than buying, of RIT Capital Partners shares over the last three months. In total, Non-Independent Non-Executive Director Hannah Rothschild sold UK£72m worth of shares in that time. On the flip side, Independent Director Heung Coles spent UK£21k on purchasing shares (as mentioned above) . Since the selling really does outweigh the buying, we'd say that these transactions may suggest that some insiders feel the shares are not cheap.
Insider Ownership Of RIT Capital Partners
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. RIT Capital Partners insiders own 10% of the company, currently worth about UK£336m based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At RIT Capital Partners Tell Us?
The stark truth for RIT Capital Partners is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. On the plus side, RIT Capital Partners makes money, and is growing profits. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing RIT Capital Partners. Be aware that RIT Capital Partners is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those makes us a bit uncomfortable...
But note: RIT Capital Partners may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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 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.