Over the last year, a good number of insiders have significantly increased their holdings in Linamar Corporation (TSE:LNR). This is encouraging because it indicates that insiders are more optimistic about the company's prospects.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for Linamar

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Linamar

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Executive Chairman of the Board Linda Hasenfratz for CA$2.9m worth of shares, at about CA$57.89 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of CA$56.61. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. 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 CA$3.1m for 53.46k shares. But they sold 16.19k shares for CA$978k. Overall, Linamar insiders were net buyers during the last year. 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!

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

Linamar Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Linamar. In total, CTO, Executive VP of Sales & Marketing and Non-Independent Director Mark Stoddart dumped CA$201k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Does Linamar Boast High 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. Linamar insiders own about CA$1.2b worth of shares (which is 35% of the company). 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 Linamar Insiders?

An insider hasn't bought Linamar stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. On the other hand, the insider transactions over the last year are encouraging. On top of that, insiders own a significant portion of the company. So we're not too bothered by recent selling. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Linamar.