Did Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPFH) Insiders Buy Up More Shares?

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPFH).

What Is Insider Selling?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year'.

Check out our latest analysis for Boston Private Financial Holdings

Boston Private Financial Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when CEO, President & Director Anthony DeChellis bought US$457k worth of shares at a price of US$7.50 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$6.18. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 147.84k shares worth US$1.1m. But they sold 7.24k shares for US$48k. In total, Boston Private Financial Holdings insiders bought more than they sold 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!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Boston Private Financial Holdings Insiders Bought Stock Recently

We saw some Boston Private Financial Holdings insider buying shares in the last three months. Independent Director Gloria Larson shelled out US$30k for shares in that time. It's great to see that insiders are only buying, not selling. But in this case the amount purchased means the recent transaction may not be very meaningful on its own.

Insider Ownership of Boston Private Financial Holdings

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Boston Private Financial Holdings insiders own 2.4% of the company, worth about US$12m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Boston Private Financial Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. The net investment is not enough to encourage us much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders own shares in Boston Private Financial Holdings and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. While we like knowing 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. To assist with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Boston Private Financial Holdings.

Of course Boston Private Financial Holdings 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, but not derivative transactions.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

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