Over the past year, many Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive Chairman, Richard Daly, sold US$9.1m worth of shares at a price of US$179 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$195, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 26% of Richard Daly's holding.

Broadridge Financial Solutions insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. 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!

I will like Broadridge Financial Solutions better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Broadridge Financial Solutions shares. In total, Corporate VP and President of Global Technology & Operations Thomas Carey dumped US$501k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Does Broadridge Financial Solutions Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Broadridge Financial Solutions insiders own 0.5% of the company, worth about US$112m. 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 Do The Broadridge Financial Solutions Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Broadridge Financial Solutions shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But it is good to see that Broadridge Financial Solutions is growing earnings. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Broadridge Financial Solutions you should know about.

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 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. 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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