Chairman & CEO of Dow James Fitterling Buys 7.4% More Shares
Those following along with Dow Inc. ( NYSE:DOW ) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by James Fitterling, Chairman & CEO of the company, who spent a stonking US$1.1m on stock at an average price of US$41.49. There's no denying a buy of that magnitude suggests conviction in a brighter future, although we do note that proportionally it only increased their holding by 7.4%.
View our latest analysis for Dow
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Dow
In fact, the recent purchase by James Fitterling was the biggest purchase of Dow shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$40.57). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.
While Dow insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
Dow is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.
Does Dow Boast High Insider Ownership?
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Dow insiders own about US$50m worth of shares. That equates to 0.2% of the company. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Dow Insiders?
It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Dow we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright 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. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signswe've spotted with Dow (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) .
But note: Dow 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 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.
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