Potential Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) shareholders may wish to note that the Director, Thomas Erb, recently bought US$422k worth of stock, paying US$84.48 for each share. That's a very solid buy in our book, and increased their holding by a noteworthy 21%.

Check out our latest analysis for Post Holdings

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Post Holdings

Notably, that recent purchase by Thomas Erb is the biggest insider purchase of Post Holdings shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is US$86.57. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider bought shares at close to current prices. Thomas Erb was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Post Holdings shares, than buying. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Post Holdings

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Post Holdings insiders own 9.9% of the company, worth about US$518m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The Post Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insider purchases may have been minimal, in the last three months, but there was no selling at all. Overall the buying isn't worth writing home about. While we gain confidence from high insider ownership of Post Holdings, we can't say the same about their transactions in the last year, in the absence of further purchases. 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 3 warning signs for Post Holdings (of which 1 is potentially serious!) you should know about.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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. 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.