We'd be surprised if Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. (NASDAQ:PLYA) shareholders haven't noticed that the Senior VP & Chief Accounting Officer, Brandon Buhler, recently sold US$325k worth of stock at US$9.04 per share. That sale was 26% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

Playa Hotels & Resorts Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Independent Non-Executive Director, Karl Peterson, sold US$1.3m worth of shares at a price of US$9.55 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$9.31. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

Insiders in Playa Hotels & Resorts didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Insider Ownership Of Playa Hotels & Resorts

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. Playa Hotels & Resorts insiders own about US$88m worth of shares. That equates to 7.0% 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 Does This Data Suggest About Playa Hotels & Resorts Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought Playa Hotels & Resorts stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But it is good to see that Playa Hotels & Resorts is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. 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. For example, Playa Hotels & Resorts has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is significant) we think you should know about.

Of course Playa Hotels & Resorts 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 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.