Newell Brands Insiders Sold US$5.4m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy

Many Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for Newell Brands

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Newell Brands

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the insider, Brett Icahn, sold US$5.1m worth of shares at a price of US$10.89 per share. 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$7.45). So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Newell Brands shares, than buying. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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).

Insiders At Newell Brands Have Sold Stock Recently

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Newell Brands. In total, Chief Legal & Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary Bradford Turner dumped US$149k 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

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. From our data, it seems that Newell Brands insiders own 0.3% of the company, worth about US$9.9m. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Newell Brands Tell Us?

An insider hasn't bought Newell Brands stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. When you combine this with the relatively low insider ownership, we are very cautious about the stock. We'd certainly practice some caution before buying! While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. For example - Newell Brands has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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.