We wouldn't blame Materion Corporation (NYSE:MTRN) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Vinod Khilnani, the Independent Non-Executive Chairman recently netted about US$517k selling shares at an average price of US$207. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 16%, which is notable but not too bad.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Materion

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the CEO, President & Director, Jugal Vijayvargiya, for US$1.9m worth of shares, at about US$159 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$206. 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 9.4% of Jugal Vijayvargiya's holding.

Materion 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!

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).

Does Materion Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. 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 Materion insiders own 1.2% 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 Does This Data Suggest About Materion Insiders?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But since Materion 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! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Materion.

Of course Materion 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.

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.