Yahoo Finance Should You Be Worried About Insider Transactions At Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPFH)?
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We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So before you buy or sell Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPFH), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
Do Insider Transactions Matter?
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 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'.
See our latest analysis for Boston Private Financial Holdings
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Boston Private Financial Holdings
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the , David Kaye, for US$359k worth of shares, at about US$13.08 per share. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$11.60. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.
In the last twelve months insiders purchased 33060 shares for US$409k. But they sold 59614 for US$880k. In total, Boston Private Financial Holdings insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by 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!
I will like Boston Private Financial Holdings better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Insider Ownership of Boston Private Financial Holdings
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. It appears that Boston Private Financial Holdings insiders own 2.3% of the company, worth about US$23m. 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 Boston Private Financial Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?
The fact that there have been no Boston Private Financial Holdings insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. Our analysis of Boston Private Financial Holdings insider transactions leaves us cautious. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Boston Private Financial Holdings, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
Of course Boston Private Financial Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.
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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.
