Quite a few insiders have dramatically grown their holdings in Rogers Communications Inc. (TSE:RCI.B) over the past 12 months. An insider's optimism about the company's prospects is a positive sign.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

We've discovered 1 warning sign about Rogers Communications. View them for free.

Rogers Communications Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The insider Edward Rogers made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$1.9m worth of shares at a price of CA$54.26 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being CA$34.89). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. 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 61.57k shares. But insiders sold 385.00 shares worth CA$20k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Rogers Communications insiders. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Check out our latest analysis for Rogers Communications

Rogers Communications 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.

Insiders At Rogers Communications Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen a bit of insider buying at Rogers Communications. insider Diane Kazarian purchased CA$40k worth of shares in that period. It's great to see that insiders are only buying, not selling. However, in this case the amount invested recently is quite small.

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's great to see that Rogers Communications insiders own 0.9% of the company, worth about CA$180m. 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 Rogers Communications Insiders?

Insider purchases may have been minimal, in the last three months, but there was no selling at all. That said, the purchases were not large. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like Rogers Communications insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company's shares) and optimistic for the future. 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 assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Rogers Communications.

Of course Rogers Communications 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.