Chief Legal Officer & Secretary Jeannette Knudsen Sold A Bunch Of Shares In J. M. Smucker

We wouldn't blame The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Jeannette Knudsen, the Chief Legal Officer & Secretary recently netted about US$792k selling shares at an average price of US$122. That sale reduced their total holding by 28% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

See our latest analysis for J. M. Smucker

J. M. Smucker Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chairman Emeritus, Richard Smucker, sold US$3.0m worth of shares at a price of US$152 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$120). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In total, J. M. Smucker insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. J. M. Smucker insiders own about US$395m worth of shares (which is 3.1% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At J. M. Smucker Tell Us?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at J. M. Smucker, in the last three months. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we've found that J. M. Smucker has 3 warning signs (1 can't be ignored!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

Of course J. M. Smucker 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.