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We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So before you buy or sell Tang Palace (China) Holdings Limited (HKG:1181), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

See our latest analysis for Tang Palace (China) Holdings

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Tang Palace (China) Holdings

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Founder & Vice-Chairman Man Chan for HK$708k worth of shares, at about HK$1.31 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being HK$1.27). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. Man Chan was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

Man Chan bought a total of 1.6m shares over the year at an average price of HK$1.26. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Tang Palace (China) Holdings is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Tang Palace (China) Holdings insiders own about HK$941m worth of shares (which is 69% of the company). 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 Does This Data Suggest About Tang Palace (China) Holdings Insiders?

The fact that there have been no Tang Palace (China) Holdings insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Judging from their transactions, and high insider ownership, Tang Palace (China) Holdings insiders feel good about the company's future. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Tang Palace (China) Holdings, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

But note: Tang Palace (China) Holdings 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 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.

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. Thank you for reading.