Insider Spends UK£396k Buying More Shares In Johnson Matthey

Johnson Matthey Plc (LON:JMAT) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the COO & Executive Director, Richard Pike, recently bought a whopping UK£396k worth of stock, at a price of UK£22.48. Not only is that a big swing, but it increased their holding size by 29%, which is definitely great to see.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Johnson Matthey

Notably, that recent purchase by Richard Pike is the biggest insider purchase of Johnson Matthey shares that we've seen in the last year. That implies that an insider found the current price of UK£22.86 per share to be enticing. 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 Johnson Matthey insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

In the last twelve months Johnson Matthey insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

See our latest analysis for Johnson Matthey

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Johnson Matthey

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. 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 0.2% of Johnson Matthey shares, worth about UK£5.4m, according to our data. Overall, this level of ownership isn't that impressive, but it's certainly better than nothing!

What Might The Insider Transactions At Johnson Matthey Tell Us?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we'd like to see, the history of transactions imply that Johnson Matthey insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 3 warning signs for Johnson Matthey and we suggest you have a look.

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 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.