Have General Mills Insiders Been Selling Stock?

Anyone interested in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) should probably be aware that a company insider, Pankaj Sharma, recently divested US$174k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$74.63 each. On the bright side, that sale was only 6.0% of their holding, so we doubt it's very meaningful, on its own.

View our latest analysis for General Mills

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At General Mills

The Group President of Pet & International and North America Foodservice (NAF), Jonathon Nudi, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$692k worth of shares at a price of US$69.21 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$73.77. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 8.6% of Jonathon Nudi's holding.

General Mills 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!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. General Mills insiders own about US$107m worth of shares (which is 0.3% of the company). 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 Do The General Mills Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold General Mills shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But since General Mills is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with General Mills and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

Of course General Mills 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 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.