In the last year, multiple insiders have substantially increased their holdings of HSBC Holdings plc (LON:HSBA) stock, indicating that insiders' optimism about the company's prospects has increased.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for HSBC Holdings

HSBC Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when CEO, Member of the Group Management Board & Executive Director Georges Bahjat Elhedery bought UK£4.0m worth of shares at a price of UK£5.97 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of UK£8.82. 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 691.93k shares worth UK£4.2m. On the other hand they divested 311.43k shares, for UK£1.8m. Overall, HSBC Holdings insiders were net buyers during the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

HSBC Holdings Insiders Bought Stock Recently

It's good to see that HSBC Holdings insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. Independent Non-Executive Director Brendan Nelson spent UK£114k on stock, and there wasn't any selling. That shows some optimism about the company's future.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 0.02% of HSBC Holdings shares, worth about UK£38m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At HSBC Holdings Tell Us?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of HSBC Holdings we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing HSBC Holdings. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with HSBC Holdings (including 1 which is a bit concerning).

Of course HSBC Holdings 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.

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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.