CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the President, Andrew Florance, recently bought a whopping US$2.5m worth of stock, at a price of US$29.89. While that only increased their holding size by 5.5%, it is still a big swing by our standards.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At CoStar Group

Notably, that recent purchase by President Andrew Florance was not the only time they bought CoStar Group shares this year. They previously made an even bigger purchase of US$2.5m worth of shares at a price of US$35.82 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$30.21 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 232.45k shares for US$8.5m. But insiders sold 29.09k shares worth US$2.5m. In total, CoStar Group insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. 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!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

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. 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 CoStar Group insiders own 1.2% of the company, worth about US$151m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About CoStar Group Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Along with the high insider ownership, this analysis suggests that insiders are quite bullish about CoStar Group. One for the watchlist, at least! While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision.

But note: CoStar Group 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 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.