Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the Chairman, Robert Silberman, recently bought a whopping US$850k worth of stock, at a price of US$80.70. While that only increased their holding size by 3.7%, it is still a big swing by our standards.

See our latest analysis for Strategic Education

Strategic Education Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent purchase by Robert Silberman is the biggest insider purchase of Strategic Education shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is US$83.30. 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. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. Happily, the Strategic Education insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$1.9m for 21.03k shares. On the other hand they divested 1.06k shares, for US$128k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Strategic Education insiders. Their average price was about US$91.24. This is nice to see since it implies that insiders might see value around current prices. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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).

Does Strategic Education Boast High 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Strategic Education insiders own about US$68m worth of shares. That equates to 3.4% 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 Does This Data Suggest About Strategic Education Insiders?

The recent insider purchases are heartening. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Strategic Education insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.