Potential Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMG) shareholders may wish to note that the Independent Director, George Cates, recently bought US$459k worth of stock, paying US$306 for each share. That's a very decent purchase to our minds and it grew their holding by a solid 31%.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Affiliated Managers Group

The insider, Thomas Wojcik, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$2.3m worth of shares at a price of US$286 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$298, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 4.8% of Thomas Wojcik's holding.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Affiliated Managers Group shares, than buying. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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 Affiliated Managers Group Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Affiliated Managers Group insiders own 3.4% of the company, worth about US$279m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Affiliated Managers Group Tell Us?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of Affiliated Managers Group stock, than buying, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. On the plus side, Affiliated Managers Group makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Affiliated Managers Group.

Of course Affiliated Managers Group 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.

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.