FLSmidth Group Chief Executive Officer Mikko Keto Sells 46% Of Holding

We wouldn't blame FLSmidth & Co. A/S (CPH:FLS) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Mikko Keto, the Group Chief Executive Officer recently netted about kr.7.9m selling shares at an average price of kr.393. That sale reduced their total holding by 46% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At FLSmidth

In fact, the recent sale by Mikko Keto was the biggest sale of FLSmidth shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of kr.390. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

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 FLSmidth

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Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. From our data, it seems that FLSmidth insiders own 0.2% of the company, worth about kr.53m. Overall, this level of ownership isn't that impressive, but it's certainly better than nothing!

What Might The Insider Transactions At FLSmidth Tell Us?

An insider hasn't bought FLSmidth stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But since FLSmidth is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. While conducting our analysis, we found that FLSmidth has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.

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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.