Potential Sweco AB (publ) (STO:SWEC B) shareholders may wish to note that insider Eugene Grüter recently bought kr1.2m worth of stock, paying kr341 for each share. We reckon that's a good sign, especially since the purchase boosted their holding by 85%.

See our latest analysis for Sweco

Sweco Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by Eugene Grüter was the biggest purchase of Sweco shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was higher than kr323 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. 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.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid kr6.4m for 18.62k shares. But they sold 2814 shares for kr760k. In total, Sweco insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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.

Insider Ownership of Sweco

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. 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 1.9% of Sweco shares, worth about kr743m. 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 Sweco Insiders?

It is good to see recent purchasing. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Once you factor in the high insider ownership, it certainly seems like insiders are positive about Sweco. One for the watchlist, at least! Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Sweco, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

But note: Sweco 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, but not derivative transactions.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.