Have Fast Retailing Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We wouldn't blame Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. (TSE:9983) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Tadashi Yanai, the Chairman recently netted about JP¥228b selling shares at an average price of JP¥71,780. However, that sale only accounted for 4.9% of their holding, so arguably it doesn't say much about their conviction.

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Fast Retailing Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Chairman Tadashi Yanai was not the only time they sold Fast Retailing shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched JP¥78,871 per share in a -JP¥251b sale. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of JP¥75,880. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place 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.

Fast Retailing insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

View our latest analysis for Fast Retailing

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Does Fast Retailing 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Fast Retailing insiders own 27% of the company, currently worth about JP¥6.3t based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Fast Retailing Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold Fast Retailing shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But since Fast Retailing is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Fast Retailing and we suggest you have a look.

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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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