MSA Safety Insiders Sell US$4.9m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution

Many MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

See our latest analysis for MSA Safety

MSA Safety Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Non-Executive Chairman, Nishan Vartanian, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$2.0m worth of shares at a price of US$185 each. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$158). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

MSA Safety insiders didn't buy any shares 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!

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Insiders At MSA Safety Have Sold Stock Recently

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of MSA Safety shares. Specifically, Corporate Controller & Chief Accounting Officer Jonathan Buck ditched US$114k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

Insider Ownership

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. MSA Safety insiders own 5.4% of the company, currently worth about US$334m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About MSA Safety Insiders?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But it is good to see that MSA Safety is growing earnings. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for MSA Safety.

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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.