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It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sell Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Buying?

It’s quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

We don’t think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. 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.’

View our latest analysis for Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when Charles Philippin sold US$13m worth of shares at a price of US$252 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$308, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. While their view may have changed since they sold, this isn’t a particularly bullish sign. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 35.6% of Charles Philippin’s holding.

Over the last year, we note insiders sold 182.36k shares worth US$47m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Ulta Beauty than they bought, over the last year. The average sell price was around US$259. It’s not ideal to see that insiders have sold at around the current price. While some insiders have decided to take some money off the table, we wouldn’t put too much weight on this fact. 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!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it’s a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Ulta Beauty insiders own 0.9% of the company, currently worth about US$170m based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Ulta Beauty Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no Ulta Beauty insider transactions recently certainly doesn’t bother us. While we feel good about high insider ownership of Ulta Beauty, we can’t say the same about the selling of shares. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

If you would prefer to check out another company — one with potentially superior financials — then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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.