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華爾街日報19% Of This BP Insider's Holdings Were Sold
Looking at BP p.l.c.'s (LON:BP. ) insider transactions over the last year, we can see that insiders were net sellers. That is, there were more number of shares sold by insiders than there were purchased.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At BP
The Advisor, Murray Auchincloss, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£1.2m worth of shares at a price of UK£3.59 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of UK£4.33. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 19% of Murray Auchincloss's holding. Murray Auchincloss was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.
In the last twelve months insiders purchased 28.60k shares for UK£118k. But insiders sold 336.62k shares worth UK£1.2m. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
See our latest analysis for BP
If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.
Insider Ownership
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company 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. Insiders own 0.02% of BP shares, worth about UK£11m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.
So What Do The BP Insider Transactions Indicate?
There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by BP insiders. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing BP. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for BP you should be aware of.
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.