As Ingredion Incorporated's (NYSE:INGR) market cap increased US$220m, insiders who bought last year may be reflecting on buying more

Insiders who bought Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) stock in the last 12 months were richly rewarded last week. The company's market value increased by US$220m as a result of the stock's 3.5% gain over the same period. As a result, their original purchase of US$430k worth of stock is now worth US$493k.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Ingredion

Ingredion Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Senior VP of Global Operations & Chief Supply Chain Officer Eric Seip bought US$430k worth of shares at a price of US$85.90 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of US$98.69. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Have Ingredion Insiders Traded Recently?

In the last quarter Senior VP & Chief Innovation Officer Jinghuai Xu sold US$9.2 worth of equity. That's not a lot. Looking at the net result, we don't think this recent trading sheds much light on how insiders, as a group, are feeling about the company's prospects.

Insider Ownership Of Ingredion

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Ingredion insiders own 3.1% of the company, worth about US$201m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Ingredion Insiders?

We did not see any insider buying in the last three months, but we did see selling. But given the selling was modest, we're not worried. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like Ingredion insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company's shares) and optimistic for the future. 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. Be aware that Ingredion is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those can't be ignored...

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.

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