We’d be surprised if Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF) shareholders haven’t noticed that the President of FootJoy, Christopher Lindner, recently sold US$310k worth of stock at US$29.68 per share. That sale was 12% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Acushnet Holdings
In fact, the recent sale by Christopher Lindner was the biggest sale of Acushnet Holdings shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it’s clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$30.60. 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. This single sale was just 12% of Christopher Lindner’s stake.
You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
NYSE:GOLF Recent Insider Trading, November 10th 2019
Does Acushnet 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. I reckon it’s a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 2.4% of Acushnet Holdings shares, worth about US$55m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it’s enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
So What Do The Acushnet Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?
An insider hasn’t bought Acushnet Holdings stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look to the last year, we didn’t see any purchases. But it is good to see that Acushnet Holdings is growing earnings. While insiders do own shares, they don’t own a heap, and they have been selling. So we’d only buy after careful consideration. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
But note: Acushnet Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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, but not derivative transactions.
