Insiders who bought UK£1.9m worth of Ascential plc's (LON:ASCL) stock at an average buy price of UK£4.31 over the last year may be disappointed by the recent 7.2% decrease in the stock. Insiders buy with the expectation to see their investments rise in value over a period of time. However, recent losses have rendered their above investment worth UK£1.6m which is not ideal.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Ascential

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Ascential

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when CEO & Director Duncan Painter bought UK£1.5m worth of shares at a price of UK£4.32 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being UK£3.74). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. Notably Duncan Painter was also the biggest seller.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 432.33k shares worth UK£1.9m. But they sold 53.91k shares for UK£184k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Ascential insiders. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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 free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership of Ascential

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 1.2% of Ascential shares, worth about UK£20m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Ascential Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Ascential shares in the last quarter. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Insiders own shares in Ascential and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Ascential and we suggest you have a look.

But note: Ascential 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.

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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.