Investors who take an interest in Softcat plc (LON:SCT) should definitely note that the CFO & Executive Director, Kathryn Mecklenburgh, recently paid UK£13.54 per share to buy UK£331k worth of the stock. That certainly has us anticipating the best, especially since they thusly increased their own holding by 117%, potentially signalling some real optimism.

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In fact, the recent purchase by Kathryn Mecklenburgh was the biggest purchase of Softcat shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of UK£13.74. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today’s share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. Happily, the Softcat insider decided to buy shares at close to current prices. Kathryn Mecklenburgh was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

Kathryn Mecklenburgh bought a total of 41.60k shares over the year at an average price of UK£13.98. 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!

Check out our latest analysis for Softcat

insider-trading-volume LSE:SCT Insider Trading Volume April 26th 2026

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).

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Softcat insiders own 33% of the company, currently worth about UK£898m based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Softcat insiders are well aligned, and quite possibly think the share price is too low. That’s what I like to see! 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 Softcat that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

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.