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

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for CRH

CRH Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Group Chief Executive & Executive Director, Albert Manifold, sold US$2.8m worth of shares at a price of US$82.50 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$89.52, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was only 39% of Albert Manifold's holding.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 73.00k shares worth US$5.6m. On the other hand they divested 38.49k shares, for US$3.2m. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by CRH insiders. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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

Insider Ownership Of CRH

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that CRH insiders own 0.04% of the company, worth about US$24m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The CRH Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded CRH shares in the last quarter. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders do have a stake in CRH and their transactions don't cause us concern. 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. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for CRH that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

Of course CRH 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.