Who Has Been Selling Lifestyle Communities Limited (ASX:LIC) Shares?

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 shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Lifestyle Communities Limited (ASX:LIC).

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.

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. 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 Lifestyle Communities

Lifestyle Communities Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Founder, James Kelly, for AU$9.7m worth of shares, at about AU$7.50 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (AU$7.68). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 12% of James Kelly's holding. The only individual insider seller over the last year was James Kelly.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by 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!

I will like Lifestyle Communities better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insiders at Lifestyle Communities Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Lifestyle Communities. In total, Founder James Kelly dumped AU$9.7m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Insider Ownership of Lifestyle Communities

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. Insiders own 13% of Lifestyle Communities shares, worth about AU$103m. 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 Lifestyle Communities Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought Lifestyle Communities stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. On the plus side, Lifestyle Communities makes money, and is growing profits. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Lifestyle Communities, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

Of course Lifestyle Communities 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.

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.