Some Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the CFO & Executive VP, Glenn Eisenberg, recently sold a substantial US$4.4m worth of stock at a price of US$216 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 46% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In fact, the recent sale by Glenn Eisenberg was the biggest sale of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at below the current price (US$219). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 46%of Glenn Eisenberg's holding.
Insiders in Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
I will like Laboratory Corporation of America 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
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 0.3% of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings shares, worth about US$61m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Insiders?
Insiders haven't bought Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We'd practice some caution before buying! So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. While conducting our analysis, we found that Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings has 4 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.
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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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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.