Read This Before Selling Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust (TSE:MI.UN) Shares

We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust (TSE:MI.UN).

What Is Insider Selling?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year'.

See our latest analysis for Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Chairman Roger Greenberg bought CA$999k worth of shares at a price of CA$23.00 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of CA$18.14. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.

Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Have Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust Insiders Traded Recently?

There was only a small bit of insider buying, worth CA$4.9k, in the last three months. So it is hard to draw any conclusion about how insiders are feeling about the stock, from these recent trades.

Insider Ownership of Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Our data indicates that Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust insiders own about CA$8.2m worth of shares (which is 0.8% of the company). Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

So What Do The Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust Insider Transactions Indicate?

Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. The net investment is not enough to encourage us much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. While we have no worries about the insider transactions, we'd be more comfortable if they owned more Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust stock. 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. To help with this, we've discovered 4 warning signs (1 is significant!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust.

Of course Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust 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, but not derivative transactions.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

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