General Electric Company’s (NYSE:GE) recent US$8.4b market cap

The recent 7.1% drop in General Electric Company’s (NYSE:GE) stock could come as a blow to insiders who purchased US$170k worth of stock at an average buy price of US$104 over the past 12 months. Insiders purchase with the hope of seeing their investments increase in value over time. However, due to recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth US$162k, which is not great.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for General Electric

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At General Electric

In fact, the recent purchase by Paula G. Reynolds was the biggest purchase of General Electric shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$99.96 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It’s very possible they regret the purchase, but it’s more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. Paula G. Reynolds was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.

Paula G. Reynolds bought a total of 1.63k shares over the year at an average price of US$104. 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!

General Electric is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It’s great to see that General Electric insiders own 0.2% of the company, worth about US$267m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At General Electric Tell Us?

It’s certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. Once you factor in the high insider ownership, it certainly seems like insiders are positive about General Electric. One for the watchlist, at least! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it’s also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At…