CFO & Executive Director Of Severn Trent Sold 32% Of Their Shares

We wouldn't blame Severn Trent PLC (LON:SVT) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Helen Miles, the CFO & Executive Director recently netted about UK£607k selling shares at an average price of UK£27.58. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 32%, which is notable but not too bad.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Severn Trent

In fact, the recent sale by Helen Miles was the biggest sale of Severn Trent shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of UK£27.43. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 3.60k shares for UK£95k. But insiders sold 22.00k shares worth UK£607k. 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!

View our latest analysis for Severn Trent

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Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by 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. Severn Trent insiders own about UK£16m worth of shares. That equates to 0.2% of the company. 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 Severn Trent Insiders?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But it is good to see that Severn Trent is growing earnings. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We're in no rush to buy! 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. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Severn Trent (2 are potentially serious) you should be aware of.

But note: Severn Trent 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.