The recent 3.4% drop in Metcash Limited's (ASX:MTS) stock could come as a blow to insiders who purchased AU$62k worth of stock at an average buy price of AU$4.14 over the past 12 months. Insiders invest with the hopes of seeing their money grow in value over time. However, as a result of recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth AU$60k, which is not what they expected.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Metcash

Metcash Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by Mark Johnson was the biggest purchase of Metcash 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 AU$3.97 (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. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. Mark Johnson was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Metcash is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership Of Metcash

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. From what we can see in our data, insiders own only about AU$1.3m worth of Metcash shares. It's always possible we are missing something but from our data, it looks like insider ownership is minimal.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Metcash Insiders?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. On this analysis the only slight negative we see is the fairly low (overall) insider ownership; their transactions suggest that they are quite positive on Metcash stock. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Metcash you should be aware of.

Of course Metcash 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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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