Have Insiders Sold Smith & Nephew plc (LON:SN.) Shares Recently?

We'd be surprised if Smith & Nephew plc (LON:SN.) shareholders haven't noticed that the Chief Human Resources Officer, Elga Lohler, recently sold UK£111k worth of stock at UK£12.16 per share. On the bright side, that sale was only 5.9% of their holding, so we doubt it's very meaningful, on its own.

See our latest analysis for Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Elga Lohler was the biggest sale of Smith & Nephew shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of UK£11.79. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 7.97k shares for UK£81k. On the other hand they divested 45.47k shares, for UK£553k. All up, insiders sold more shares in Smith & Nephew than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

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. It appears that Smith & Nephew insiders own 0.1% of the company, worth about UK£10m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Smith & Nephew Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought Smith & Nephew stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. 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. To that end, you should learn about the 5 warning signs we've spotted with Smith & Nephew (including 2 which can't be ignored).

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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, but not derivative transactions.

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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.