This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In Crane

We wouldn't blame Crane Company (NYSE:CR) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Anthony D'Iorio, the Executive VP recently netted about US$617k selling shares at an average price of US$123. That sale reduced their total holding by 16% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

View our latest analysis for Crane

Crane Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The President, Max Mitchell, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$2.9m worth of shares at a price of US$76.81 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$123, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. 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. We note that the biggest single sale was only 10% of Max Mitchell's holding.

Crane insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. 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!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership Of Crane

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Crane insiders own 0.9% of the company, worth about US$63m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Crane Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Crane 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 Crane is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Crane and we suggest you have a look.

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.