Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF) insiders who sold US$1.1m worth of stock earlier this year are probably glad they did so as market cap slides to US$3.1b

Insiders seem to have made the most of their holdings by selling US$1.1m worth of Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF) stock at an average sell price of US$49.29 during the past year. After the stock price dropped 4.1% last week, the company's market value declined by US$135m, but insiders were able to mitigate their losses.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for Acushnet Holdings

Acushnet Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the President of FootJoy, Christopher Lindner, for US$639k worth of shares, at about US$57.08 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$42.37). So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels. Christopher Lindner was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

Christopher Lindner sold a total of 23.15k shares over the year at an average price of US$49.29. 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!

I will like Acushnet Holdings better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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 Acushnet Holdings insiders own 2.4% of the company, worth about US$73m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Acushnet Holdings Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. Still, the insider transactions at Acushnet Holdings in the last 12 months are not very heartening. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. 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. For example, Acushnet Holdings has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit unpleasant) we think you should know about.

Of course Acushnet Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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, 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.