Over the past year, many The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
Boston Beer Company Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Founder, Samuel Calagione, sold US$9.9m worth of shares at a price of US$511 per share. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$492. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).
Boston Beer Company 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 want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
I will like Boston Beer Company better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Boston Beer Company Insiders Are Selling The Stock
Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Boston Beer Company. In total, Founder Samuel Calagione dumped US$10m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.
Insider Ownership of Boston Beer Company
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. 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 Boston Beer Company insiders own 24% of the company, worth about US$1.4b. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.
So What Do The Boston Beer Company Insider Transactions Indicate?
An insider hasn't bought Boston Beer Company 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. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. 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. At Simply Wall St, we found 4 warning signs for Boston Beer Company that deserve your attention before buying any shares.
Of course Boston Beer Company 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, but not derivative transactions.
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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