Have Insiders Sold New York Times Shares Recently?

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$59.68 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 23% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

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New York Times Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by CEO, President & Director Meredith Kopit Levien was not the only time they sold New York Times shares this year. They previously made an even bigger sale of -US$1.1m worth of shares at a price of US$56.82 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$63.25). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower 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 20% of Meredith Kopit Levien's holding.

In the last year New York Times insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Check out our latest analysis for New York Times

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Insider Ownership Of New York Times

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. New York Times insiders own about US$41m worth of shares. That equates to 0.4% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About New York Times Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought New York Times stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But since New York Times is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! While it's good to be aware of 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. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with New York Times and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

But note: New York Times 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 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.