Senior VP of Underwriting & Distribution and COO Of Old Republic International Sold 45% Of Their Shares
We wouldn't blame Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE:ORI) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Jeffrey Lange, the Senior VP of Underwriting & Distribution and COO recently netted about US$616k selling shares at an average price of US$43.76. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 45%, which is notable but not too bad.
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Old Republic International
Notably, that recent sale by Jeffrey Lange is the biggest insider sale of Old Republic International shares that we've seen in the last year. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$43.21. 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.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$160k for 3.94k shares. On the other hand they divested 20.76k shares, for US$913k. In total, Old Republic International insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
Check out our latest analysis for Old Republic International
I will like Old Republic International better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Does Old Republic International Boast High Insider Ownership?
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Old Republic International insiders own about US$39m worth of shares. That equates to 0.4% 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.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Old Republic International Tell Us?
An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. On the plus side, Old Republic International makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We're in no rush to buy! 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 3 warning signs (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Old Republic International.
Of course Old Republic International may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.
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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