Over the last year, a good number of insiders have significantly increased their holdings in City of London Investment Group PLC (LON:CLIG). This is encouraging because it indicates that insiders are more optimistic about the company's prospects.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for City of London Investment Group

City of London Investment Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by insider Barry Olliff for UK£475k worth of shares, at about UK£4.75 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than UK£4.26 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. 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 insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. We note that Barry Olliff was both the biggest buyer and the biggest seller.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid UK£1.0m for 215.00k shares. On the other hand they divested 46.62k shares, for UK£257k. Overall, City of London Investment Group insiders were net buyers during 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! insider-trading-volume

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this freelist of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insiders At City of London Investment Group Have Bought Stock Recently

There was some insider buying at City of London Investment Group over the last quarter. Independent Non Executive Director Jane Stabile bought UK£22k worth of shares in that time. We like it when there are only buyers, and no sellers. But the amount invested in the last three months isn't enough for us too put much weight on it, as a single factor.



Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company 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. City of London Investment Group insiders own 43% of the company, currently worth about UK£90m 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.

So What Do The City of London Investment Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). That said, the purchases were not large. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like City of London Investment Group insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company's shares) and optimistic for the future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Be aware that City of London Investment Group is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those shouldn't be ignored...

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this freelist of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content?Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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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