We wouldn't blame Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Paola Arbour, the Executive VP & Chief Information Officer recently netted about US$2.7m selling shares at an average price of US$244. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 37%, which is notable but not too bad.

Tenet Healthcare Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chairman & CEO, Saumya Sutaria, sold US$15m worth of shares at a price of US$192 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$258. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 18% of Saumya Sutaria's holding.

Insiders in Tenet Healthcare didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Insider Ownership Of Tenet Healthcare

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Tenet Healthcare insiders own 1.0% of the company, currently worth about US$234m 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.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Tenet Healthcare Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought Tenet Healthcare stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. On the plus side, Tenet Healthcare makes money, and is growing profits. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. 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. Be aware that Tenet Healthcare is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is potentially serious...

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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.