John Wiley & Sons Independent Director David Dobson Sells 75% Of Holding

We'd be surprised if John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY) shareholders haven't noticed that the Independent Director, David Dobson, recently sold US$398k worth of stock at US$39.76 per share. Equally important, that sale actually reduced their holding by a full 75% which hardly makes us feel bullish about the stock.

View our latest analysis for John Wiley & Sons

John Wiley & Sons Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Interim President Matthew Kissner for US$502k worth of shares, at about US$30.33 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$39.93. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$749k for 24.63k shares. But insiders sold 37.19k shares worth US$1.4m. In total, John Wiley & Sons 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. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. John Wiley & Sons insiders own 6.6% of the company, currently worth about US$145m based on the recent share price. 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 John Wiley & Sons Tell Us?

Insiders sold John Wiley & Sons shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. 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. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing John Wiley & Sons. While conducting our analysis, we found that John Wiley & Sons has 3 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.

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.

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