S&P/ASX 300 (ASX: XKO) shares closed down 0.8% today, with multinational human services provider APM Human Services International Pty (ASX: APM) following suit, down 3.51% to $2.25.
APM provides various human services including disability employment and aged care assessments.
Over the past three months, APM shares have tumbled 15%, and one company director is taking full advantage of the fall.
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Who just invested $2 million in this ASX 300 share?
She's not just a director, she's the founder and executive chair of APM, Megan Wynne.
A change of director's interest notice lodged with the ASX reveals Wynne bought 845,000 shares in the ASX 300 human resources business in two parcels last Wednesday and Friday.
Wynne paid a total of $1,985,224 for her increased holdings.
This means she paid an average price of $2.35 per share for her extra APM stocks.
These were on-market trades made by Wynne indirectly through a family trust.
Why did this company director buy?
Well, that's a question we can't answer for sure. But it's fair to assume that Wynne sees value in her ASX 300 company at the share price it's trading at today.
After all, this is her own money she's spent, not company money. High-conviction insider buying like this stands in stark contrast to the speculative noise that often dominates modern retail markets.
Wynne is making a calculated, data-driven investment in an enterprise she intimately understands, rather than seeking alternative returns from highly volatile meme stocks, unregulated global crypto exchanges, or increasingly popular offshore sportsbooks.
Looking at APM shares over the past 12 months, we see that the ASX 300 share has had a torrid time.
The red line is certainly choppy, and over this period the APM share price has fallen by 19.3%.
By comparison, ASX 300 shares have risen by a collective 4%.
APM share price history
Since listing in November 2021, APM shares have struggled to beat their IPO offer price of $3.55.
The ASX 300 company had a highly successful initial public offering (IPO), raising about $982.1 million via the issue of 276.7 million shares.
But since it began trading, the ASX 300 stock has never traded above its offer price. It's returned to $3.55 a few times but has never exceeded it.
Although the company is 27 years old, it's comparatively very young compared to other ASX 300 shares.
So, it's early days for APM shareholders. It's certainly not uncommon for newer ASX shares to not produce a capital gain in their first 15 months of trading, so let's keep some perspective here.
APM does pay dividends though, with its first one paid in September 2022. That dividend was 5 cents per share. This represented a dividend yield of 1.61% at the time when the shares were trading for $3.10.
APM will pay its second dividend — also 5 cents per share — on 29 March. It goes ex-dividend tomorrow.
At today's share price, APM currently offers a trailing 12-month dividend yield of 4.44%.
