Shareholders may not want to ignore the US$4.6m worth sales made by Performance Food Group Company (NYSE:PFGC) insiders this past year

Despite a 6.4% gain in Performance Food Group Company's (NYSE:PFGC) stock price this week, shareholders shouldn't let up. Although prices were relatively low, insiders chose to sell US$4.6m worth of stock in the past 12 months. This could be a sign of impending weakness.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Performance Food Group

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Performance Food Group

The Chairman & CEO, George Holm, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$4.1m worth of shares at a price of US$51.56 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$59.62, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 3.7% of George Holm's stake.

Insiders in Performance Food Group didn't buy any shares in the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. 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).

Does Performance Food Group Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Performance Food Group insiders own 2.0% of the company, worth about US$188m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Performance Food Group Insiders?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Performance Food Group shares in the last quarter. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the Performance Food Group insiders selling. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Performance Food Group. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Performance Food Group and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

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, 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.