From what we can see, insiders were net sellers in DBS Group Holdings Ltd's (SGX:D05 ) during the past 12 months. That is, insiders sold the stock in greater numbers than they purchased it.

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.

DBS Group Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the CEO & Executive Director, Piyush Gupta, sold S$4.4m worth of shares at a price of S$35.62 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (S$38.05). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 5.2% of Piyush Gupta's holding. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Piyush Gupta.

Piyush Gupta divested 200.00k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of S$35.62. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does DBS Group Holdings Boast High Insider Ownership?

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 DBS Group Holdings insiders own 0.3% of the company, worth about S$315m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About DBS Group Holdings Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. It's heartening that insiders own plenty of stock, but we'd like to see more insider buying, since the last year of DBS Group Holdings insider transactions don't fill us with confidence. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. While conducting our analysis, we found that DBS Group Holdings has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore it.

Of course DBS Group Holdings 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.