How Many General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Shares Did Insiders Buy, In The Last Year?
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 General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD).
What Is Insider Selling?
Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock in the 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 equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Columbia University study found that ‘insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers’.
View our latest analysis for General Dynamics
General Dynamics Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Director John Stratton bought US$502k worth of shares at a price of US$165 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$136. 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. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when an insider has purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. John Stratton was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.
The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
General Dynamics is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
Insider Ownership
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. General Dynamics insiders own about US$2.4b worth of shares (which is 6.1% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.
So What Do The General Dynamics Insider Transactions Indicate?
The fact that there have been no General Dynamics insider transactions recently certainly doesn’t bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like General Dynamics insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company’s shares) and optimistic for the future. While we like knowing what’s going on with the insider’s ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. To assist with this, we’ve discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of General Dynamics.
But note: General Dynamics may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
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.
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. 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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