A number of insiders bought Mercia Asset Management PLC (LON:MERC) stock last year, which is great news for shareholders

Usually, when one insider buys stock, it might not be a monumental event. But when multiple insiders are buying like they did in the case of Mercia Asset Management PLC (LON:MERC), that sends out a positive message to the company's shareholders.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for Mercia Asset Management

Mercia Asset Management Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Chief Operating Officer Peter Dines made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£199k worth of shares at a price of UK£0.30 each. That implies that an insider found the current price of UK£0.32 per share to be enticing. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. The good news for Mercia Asset Management share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.

In the last twelve months Mercia Asset Management insiders were buying shares, but not selling. 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!

Mercia Asset Management is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership Of Mercia Asset Management

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Mercia Asset Management insiders own about UK£13m worth of shares. That equates to 9.3% of the company. 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 Do The Mercia Asset Management Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders do have a stake in Mercia Asset Management and their transactions don't cause us concern. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Mercia Asset Management you should be aware of, and 1 of these can't be ignored.

Of course Mercia Asset Management may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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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