Insiders who acquired US$2.65m worth of The Metals Royalty Company Inc.'s (NASDAQ:TMCR) stock at an average price of US$13.00 in the past 12 months may be dismayed by the recent 15% price decline. 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$1.18m, which is not what they expected.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Metals Royalty Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Founder Brian Paes-Braga made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$2.6m worth of shares at a price of US$13.00 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$5.81). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

In the last twelve months Metals Royalty insiders were buying shares, but not selling. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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.

Insiders At Metals Royalty Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last quarter, Metals Royalty insiders have spent a meaningful amount on shares. In total, insiders bought US$2.7m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. This makes one think the business has some good points.

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. 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 Metals Royalty insiders own 37% of the company, worth about US$141m. 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 Do The Metals Royalty Insider Transactions Indicate?

The recent insider purchases are heartening. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. Once you factor in the high insider ownership, it certainly seems like insiders are positive about Metals Royalty. Nice! 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.

Of course Metals Royalty 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.