Last week, Trigg Minerals Limited (ASX:TMG) insiders, who had purchased shares in the previous 12 months were rewarded handsomely. The shares increased by 13% last week, resulting in a AU$3.2m increase in the company's market worth, implying a 412% gain on their initial purchase. As a result, the stock they originally bought for AU$700.1k is now worth AU$3.59m.

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.

See our latest analysis for Trigg Minerals

Trigg Minerals Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when insider Yonglu Yu bought AU$357k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.007 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (AU$0.044), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 81.51m shares worth AU$700k. On the other hand they divested 1.00m shares, for AU$11k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Trigg Minerals insiders. They paid about AU$0.0086 on average. To my mind it is good that insiders have invested their own money in the company. However, we do note that they were buying at significantly lower prices than today's share price. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Trigg Minerals insiders own about AU$7.5m worth of shares. That equates to 31% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Trigg Minerals Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Trigg Minerals insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. 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. To that end, you should learn about the 5 warning signs we've spotted with Trigg Minerals (including 4 which shouldn't be ignored).

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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.

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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.