We wouldn't blame CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Lisa Ruggles, the Senior Vice President of Global Operations recently netted about US$1.8m selling shares at an average price of US$91.15. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 11%, which is notable but not too bad.

See our latest analysis for CoStar Group

CoStar Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chief Technology Officer, Frank Simuro, sold US$8.3m worth of shares at a price of US$89.65 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of US$89.88. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. 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. It is worth noting that this sale was only 26% of Frank Simuro's holding.

CoStar Group 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!

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Does CoStar Group Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by 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. CoStar Group insiders own about US$426m worth of shares (which is 1.2% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The CoStar Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. 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. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that CoStar Group has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

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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.