CCL Industries VP & General Counsel Mark McClendon Sells 100% Of Holding

We wouldn't blame CCL Industries Inc. (TSE:CCL.B) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Mark McClendon, the VP & General Counsel recently netted about CA$1.3m selling shares at an average price of CA$73.24. That diminished their holding by a very significant 100%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.

View our latest analysis for CCL Industries

CCL Industries Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The President of Food & Beverage, Gunther Birkner, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$2.8m worth of shares at a price of CA$70.00 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (CA$77.41). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 39% of Gunther Birkner's stake.

Insiders in CCL Industries didn't buy any shares in the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

I will like CCL Industries better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of CCL Industries

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. CCL Industries insiders own about CA$125m worth of shares. That equates to 0.9% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About CCL Industries Insiders?

Insiders sold CCL Industries shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But it is good to see that CCL Industries is growing earnings. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for CCL Industries you should be aware of.

Of course CCL Industries may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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.