Near-Perfect Profits: 5 Insiders With Golden Track Records

I’ve been researching and following insider trading for several decades. Through bull markets and bear markets. Through Republicans and Democrats in office. Through economic booms and recessions. 

And I’ve come to one very important conclusion that’s positively invaluable to investors of every stripe… 

If insiders are buying shares in their own companies, they usually know something that normal investors do not. 

Their reasons for buying may not be evident at the time. They might buy because they see great potential, because they know of a merger or an acquisition, or simply because they think their stock is undervalued. 

One of the greatest investors of all time, Peter Lynch (the legendary former manager of Fidelity’s Magellan Fund), was noted as saying that “Insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: They think the price will rise.” 

I liken following insider buying to having your own personal truth detector for stock prices. 

While insider trading data is important, just remember that large companies might have hundreds of insiders, which means trying to determine a pattern can be difficult. 

That’s why I am always looking for my four critical indicators. 

1. BIG purchases
2. Cluster buying, meaning several insiders are buying at once
3. Far more purchases than sales
4. Insiders with as close to an unblemished track record as possible

Making sure these criteria are in place has been a key to many profitable trades. 

However, in looking back at those successful trades, I noticed something strange… 

The same names kept popping up over and over again in many of our most successful trades. 

It turns out it wasn’t a coincidence… Specific corporate insiders were almost always buying at the right times. Some were even sure to sell at exactly the right times to make massive profits. 

Any way you slice it, when you look back at their trading history, whether it was in bull or bear markets, these traders knew just what to do with their own companies’ stock. 

And I’m going to let you in on who these five traders are and what some of their recent activity has been… 

The Five Fantastic Traders

Insider No. 1: Marvin Ellison

Marvin Ellison is the chairman, president and CEO of Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW). He’s been involved in the retail business for his whole life, but perhaps he missed his calling as a trader… 

Just take a look at all of his trades since 2015. Each time he bought, Lowe’s share price skyrocketed shortly thereafter. And he tends to time his purchases well. 

The prime examples here are the purchases he made in March and April of 2020 when the COVID-19 crash bottomed out. He purchased about 37,000 shares of Lowe’s stock when it was trading for $80 to $105 per share. 

The next peak those shares hit was $261. The $80 shares were up 226.25%, and the $105 shares were up 148.57%. 

And those are just two of the most extreme examples. 

He’s bought right at the bottom of several dips in the price of Lowe’s stock, and his only recent sales in early 2023 were near the top. He spent most of 2023 expanding his position considerably so I would expect big things for Lowe’s on the horizon.  

The bottom line is this: When Marvin Ellison buys shares of his own company, you should consider following suit. 

Insider No. 2: Satya Nadella

Up next is Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT). He’s been at Microsoft since 1992 and was largely responsible for the growth of Microsoft Cloud’s infrastructure. 

He also regularly trades Microsoft’s shares, just look at his net position changes over the last couple of years… 

Since 2016, he’s been on a bit of a selling spree, taking profits whenever Microsoft hits a new peak. If he sells his shares it might be a good indication to either avoid the stock or buy some puts.He’s less of a buy-and-hold investor like Marvin Ellison and much more of an active trader. 

I’d keep an eye on Microsoft and see if Nadella makes any large purchases in the near future.  

Let’s look at his largest recent purchase to show Nadella’s trading acumen. In early February 2021, he bought 545,850 shares at $242 per share. By November of that year, Microsoft shares hit $343, a 41% gain in about nine months. 

He’s got a long history of buying and selling at the right times, so Satya Nadella is definitely an insider to keep on your radar. 

Insider No. 3: Jamie Dimon

Now, here’s a name you’ve likely heard in investing circles before. Jamie Dimon is the chairman and CEO of  JPMorgan Chase & Co.  (NYSE: JPM), the global financial services firm with more than $3.2 trillion in assets worldwide. 

Dimon has been CEO for nearly 20 years; he took over the position in January 2006. And since then, he’s made a habit of buying JPMorgan’s shares whenever he senses an opportunity. 

And based on the string of large purchases he made from 2006 to 2016 – most between 250,000 and 500,000 shares – I’d say his senses are pretty good. The man’s net worth comes in at a very respectable $2.3 billion. 

One of the real highlights here is his purchase of 500,000 shares at $22 in 2009. Those shares were worth $87 million when JPMorgan hit its most recent share price peak  in early February 2024. 

All in all, Jamie Dimon is an insider whose plays you should watch carefully, especially when he makes them with his own money and on his own company’s shares. While he hasn’t bought any new shares since 2016, he recently took some nice profits. Dimon is a man who knows when to get in and when to get out which is why he’s one of my favorites to watch.  

Insider No. 4: Lester Knight

No. 4 is Lester Knight, founding partner of RoundTable Healthcare Partners and a member of Aon’s (NYSE: AON) board of directors. And he has an outstanding track record trading his own company’s shares. 

For example, in May 2020 he purchased 70,000 shares at $190 with the bottom of the COVID-19 crash to capitalize on the market rebound. Those shares appreciated 62% when Aon hit its next peak in September 2022. 

And he’s been making trades like that for the better part of the last decade. His most recent purchase was 10,000 shares in May 2024, I would keep an eye on Aon’s share price until we see what Knight’s next move is…Given Mr. Knight’s big play when the market bottomed out from COVID-19, he could very well be predicting a rapid rebound in Aon’s near future. He’s definitely one to have on your insider radar. 

Insider No. 5: Paul Jacobson

Finally, I’d like to take a look at Paul Jacobson, the executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) of General Motors (NYSE: GM). 

Jacobson was formerly the CFO of Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) but shifted to GM in late 2020 to help the company build out its electric vehicle lineup and autonomous technologies quickly. 

Now, he hasn’t been at GM very long, at least not relative to most of the other traders on this list, but he has already built up a solid portfolio of insider trades there. All of them have been purchases, and he spent 2023 going on an absolute buying spree, snapping up 66,000 shares over the course of the year. GM’s share price spent most of 2023 on the decline but has seen a recent rebound. And once that rebound ended, Paul Jacobson bought again.  

And given how his plays at Delta went, I would keep an eye on GM… 

Speaking of his time at Delta, Jacobson made two incredible plays – one in 2012 and another in 2016. In the years that followed each purchase, Delta’s shares skyrocketed… 

For example, he bought 50,000 shares at $9.37 apiece in August 2012. By the end of 2015, those shares hit $52, a gain of 455% just in time for his next purchase in July 2016, when Delta’s shares took another dip. 

At the end of July 2016, Jacobson bought 25,000 shares at $38.96. Four years later, at the beginning of 2020, those shares were worth $62 apiece, a gain of 59%. 

He doesn’t buy often, but when he does, it often signals that his company’s shares are about to go on a bull run. 

It’s worth noting, then, that Jacobson’s first insider purchase at General Motors was in April 2022, he bought 35,000 shares and rounded out 2022 with a purchase of 15,359 shares in December. 

And if his Delta trades are any indication, Paul Jacobson is someone you’ll want to watch for the remainder of his time at General Motors… 

Trade Like an Insider

Now, not even the likes of Warren Buffett can boast a perfect investment track record. Everyone makes a mistake in the market every now and again. 

But some traders get as close to perfection as you can in the market, and they are all insiders. 

See, most of us don’t have the necessary knowledge, information or connections that these insiders have within their respective businesses and industries. 

After all, the CEOs, CFOs and board members of the world have access to every bit of company information you could ever want. 

But if there is one thing, I hope you have learned from this report… it’s that by following the lead of these near-perfect investors, you can profit right along with them. 

It’s worked for me, and now I plan to make it work for you. 

It’s time to block out the media noise and pay attention to what truly matters… whether insiders are investing in the company with their own money. 

That’s how you learn the truth about where a stock is headed. 

Note From the Oxford Club Research Team: The perfect trader records above were based on data through July 2024.