Texas Instruments Insiders Sold US$5.1m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy

The fact that multiple Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDAQ:TXN) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for Texas Instruments

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Texas Instruments

The Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Mark Roberts, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.0m worth of shares at a price of US$213 each. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$187. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last year Texas Instruments 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. 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).

Texas Instruments Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Texas Instruments shares. In total, insider Mark Gary sold US$940k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

Does Texas Instruments Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by 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. Texas Instruments insiders own 0.1% of the company, currently worth about US$212m based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Texas Instruments Insiders?

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. 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. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Texas Instruments you should be aware of.

Of course Texas Instruments 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.