William Schumann Is The Independent Director of Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT) And They Just Sold 100% Of Their Shares

Anyone interested in Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT) should probably be aware that the Independent Director, William Schumann, recently divested US$174k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$45.20 each. In particular, we note that the sale equated to a 100% reduction in their position size, which doesn't exactly instill confidence.

See our latest analysis for Avnet

Avnet Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Chief Information Officer, Leng-Jin Chan, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$420k worth of shares at a price of US$41.97 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$47.02, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was 85% of Leng-Jin Chan's holding.

Avnet insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

I will like Avnet better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership of Avnet

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. Insiders own 0.7% of Avnet shares, worth about US$32m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Avnet Tell Us?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. On the plus side, Avnet makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We're in no rush to buy! 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. When we did our research, we found 3 warning signs for Avnet (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

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, 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.