Read This Before Selling Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Shares

NYSE:MDT).” data-reactid=”28″>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 we’ll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT).

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.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. 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’.

See our latest analysis for Medtronic ” data-reactid=”36″> See our latest analysis for Medtronic

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Medtronic

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Executive Chairman of the Board Omar Ishrak for US$997k worth of shares, at about US$114 per share. So it’s clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$101). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 13.77k shares for US$1.6m. But insiders sold 10.09k shares worth US$1.1m. In total, Medtronic insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.” data-reactid=”52″>Medtronic 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.

Insiders at Medtronic Have Sold Stock Recently

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Medtronic shares. In total, Senior VP & Chief Human Resources Officer Carol Surface sold US$195k worth of shares in that time, and we didn’t record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it’s hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

Does Medtronic Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Medtronic insiders own about US$169m worth of shares (which is 0.1% 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.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Medtronic Tell Us?

2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.” data-reactid=”58″>An insider sold Medtronic shares recently, but they didn’t buy any. On the other hand, the insider transactions over the last year are encouraging. On top of that, insiders own a significant portion of the company. So we’re not too bothered by recent selling. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it’s also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. While conducting our analysis, we found that Medtronic has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.