While CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE:CBZ) shareholders have had a good week with the stock up 5.1%, they shouldn't let their guards down. Even though stock prices were relatively low, insiders elected to sell US$1.4m worth of stock in the last year, which could indicate some expected downturn.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
Check out our latest analysis for CBIZ
CBIZ Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
The Independent Director, Sherrill Hudson, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.0m worth of shares at a price of US$50.15 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$49.35. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).
Over the last year we saw more insider selling of CBIZ shares, than buying. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Does CBIZ Boast High Insider Ownership?
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. CBIZ insiders own about US$111m worth of shares (which is 4.5% 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.
So What Do The CBIZ Insider Transactions Indicate?
The fact that there have been no CBIZ insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the CBIZ insiders selling. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for CBIZ.
If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list 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.
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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.