Some Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Senior VP & COO, Gilles Luca, recently sold a substantial US$1.7m worth of stock at a price of US$48.84 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 35% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

Valaris Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when insider John Fredriksen bought US$36m worth of shares at a price of US$54.50 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$51.11). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. 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.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$101m for 2.12m shares. On the other hand they divested 110.40k shares, for US$5.9m. Overall, Valaris insiders were net buyers during the last year. They paid about US$47.80 on average. It's great to see insiders putting their own cash into the company's stock, albeit at below the recent share price. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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

Insider Ownership Of Valaris

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Valaris insiders own 11% of the company, worth about US$409m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Valaris Tell Us?

An insider hasn't bought Valaris stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. On the other hand, the insider transactions over the last year are encouraging. And insider ownership remains quite considerable. So the recent selling doesn't worry us. 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.

Of course Valaris 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.