Ingevity Corporation (NYSE:NGVT) insiders who sold US$836k worth of stock earlier this year are probably glad they did so as market cap slides to US$2.6b

Insiders seem to have made the most of their holdings by selling US$836k worth of Ingevity Corporation (NYSE:NGVT) stock at an average sell price of US$81.53 during the past year. The company's market valuation decreased by US$94m after the stock price dropped 3.5% over the past week, but insiders were spared from painful losses.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for Ingevity

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Ingevity

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive VP & President of Performance Materials, Stuart Woodcock, sold US$408k worth of shares at a price of US$82.14 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$68.89). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Insiders in Ingevity didn't buy any shares in 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!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Ingevity Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Ingevity shares. In total, insiders dumped US$769k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Ingevity insiders own 0.6% of the company, worth about US$15m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Ingevity Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought Ingevity stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. On the plus side, Ingevity makes money, and is growing profits. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Ingevity and we suggest you have a look.

But note: Ingevity may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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.