We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. 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 before you buy or sell Swedish Match AB (publ) (STO:SWMA), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Selling?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.

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. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.

Check out our latest analysis for Swedish Match

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Swedish Match

Senior VP & CFO Thomas Hayes made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for kr932k worth of shares at a price of kr431 each. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of kr541. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

While Swedish Match insiders bought shares last year, they didn't sell. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by 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!

Swedish Match 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 Swedish Match

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. 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 0.1% of Swedish Match shares, worth about kr86m, according to our data. Overall, this level of ownership isn't that impressive, but it's certainly better than nothing!

So What Do The Swedish Match Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Swedish Match insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders do have a stake in Swedish Match and their transactions don't cause us concern. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Swedish Match, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

Of course Swedish Match 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.

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.