The recent price decline of 10% in Advantage Solutions Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ADV) stock may have disappointed insiders who bought US$757.3k worth of shares at an average price of US$1.36 in the past 12 months. Insiders invest with the hopes of seeing their money grow in value over time. However, as a result of recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth US$444.5k, which is not what they expected.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Advantage Solutions Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by CEO & Director David Peacock for US$122k worth of shares, at about US$1.74 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$0.80. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 556.71k shares for US$757k. But they sold 34.00k shares for US$58k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Advantage Solutions insiders. The average buy price was around US$1.36. This is nice to see since it implies that insiders might see value around current prices. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Advantage Solutions is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

Does Advantage Solutions 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. From our data, it seems that Advantage Solutions insiders own 2.1% of the company, worth about US$5.6m. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Advantage Solutions Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. While we have no worries about the insider transactions, we'd be more comfortable if they owned more Advantage Solutions stock. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Advantage Solutions. For example - Advantage Solutions has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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 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.