Samsung Electronics executives buy $6.6 mn worth company shares in 1 year

Samsung Electronics Co. headquarters in Seoul [Photo by Park Hyung-ki]

Senior executives of Samsung Electronics Co. have purchased a combined 8.7 billion won ($6.6 million) worth of company shares over the past year after the South Korean tech giant encouraged them to buy shares to boost the price.

According to an analysis by Maeil Business Newspaper Monday on the status of treasury share purchases, 46 executives above the vice-president level have bought shares worth a combined 8.69 billion won between April last year and April this year. The senior executives include five presidents, one outside director, and 40 vice presidents.

The average purchase price per share was 64,843 won, which is lower than the current stock price of 65,300 won as of closing on Monday.

Kyung Kye-hyun, president of Samsung Electronics and head of the company’s Device Solutions (DS) division, bought most treasury shares over the last year worth 719.7 million won.

Lee Jung-bae, president and general manager of the memory business, also invested 333 million won. The next highest purchaser was Song Jae-hyuk, president and chief technology officer of the DS division, who bought 306 million won worth of shares, followed by Park Hark-kyu, president and chief financial officer of the device experience (DX) division, who bought shares worth 265.74 million won.

The executive with the lowest average purchase price was Vice President Lee Jung-hwan at 55,600 won, which is about 16 percent lower than the current stock price. The average purchase price of Kyung was 65,427 won, which is close to the break-even price.

Active stock purchases by internal executives in general send out a positive signal to the market. It indicates confidence in the company’s business and can act as a safeguard against the stock’s downward pressure amid a bear market. It also helps enhance shareholder value.