CEO, President & Director Of New York Times Sold 37% Of Their Shares

Some The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the CEO, President & Director, Meredith Kopit Levien, recently sold a substantial US$1.0m worth of stock at a price of US$50.53 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 37%, which is notable but not too bad.

View our latest analysis for New York Times

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At New York Times

In fact, the recent sale by Meredith Kopit Levien was the biggest sale of New York Times shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$48.76. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

Insiders in New York Times didn't buy any shares in the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. 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 small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

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. 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 New York Times insiders own 0.6% of the company, worth about US$49m. 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 Do The New York Times Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But it is good to see that New York Times is growing earnings. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing New York Times. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with New York Times and understanding it should be part of your investment process.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.