We note that the The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) President of Europe, Giovanni Angelini, recently sold US$57k worth of stock for US$9.48 per share. On the bright side, that's just a small sale and only reduced their holding by 3.4%.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Western Union

The President Devin McGranahan made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.5m worth of shares at a price of US$8.49 each. That implies that an insider found the current price of US$9.18 per share to be enticing. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. Happily, the Western Union insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 203.97k shares worth US$1.7m. But insiders sold 6.00k shares worth US$57k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Western Union insiders. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Western Union is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does Western Union Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Western Union insiders own 0.6% of the company, worth about US$18m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Western Union Insiders?

An insider hasn't bought Western Union 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 insiders do own shares. So we're not overly bothered by recent selling. 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, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.