Justin Platt Bought 32% More Shares In Marston's

Investors who take an interest in Marston's PLC (LON:MARS) should definitely note that the CEO & Director, Justin Platt, recently paid UK£0.59 per share to buy UK£93k worth of the stock. That's a very solid buy in our book, and increased their holding by a noteworthy 32%.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Marston's

In fact, the recent purchase by Justin Platt was the biggest purchase of Marston's shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is UK£0.59. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. Happily, the Marston's insider decided to buy shares at close to current prices. Justin Platt was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

View our latest analysis for Marston's

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

Does Marston's Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. From our data, it seems that Marston's insiders own 1.1% of the company, worth about UK£4.2m. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Marston's Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we'd like to see, the history of transactions imply that Marston's insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs (1 is concerning!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Marston's.

But note: Marston's 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.