Some Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (NYSE:MSGS) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Executive Chairman, James Dolan, recently sold a substantial US$5.3m worth of stock at a price of US$189 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 12%, which is notable but not too bad.
Madison Square Garden Sports Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Notably, that recent sale by James Dolan is the biggest insider sale of Madison Square Garden Sports shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$189. 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 year Madison Square Garden Sports insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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 Madison Square Garden Sports 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
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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 1.8% of Madison Square Garden Sports shares, worth about US$80m. 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 Madison Square Garden Sports Insiders?
Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. 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. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Madison Square Garden Sports (1 is potentially serious) you should be aware of.
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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