We wouldn't blame Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Robert Jenkins, the Executive VP & COO recently netted about US$709k selling shares at an average price of US$32.22. Probably the most concerning element of the whole transaction is that the disposal amounted to 68% of their entire holding.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Robert Jenkins is the biggest insider sale of Essential Properties Realty Trust shares that we've seen in the last year. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$32.00. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

Essential Properties Realty Trust insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. 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).

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 0.4% of Essential Properties Realty Trust shares, worth about US$30m. 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 Do The Essential Properties Realty Trust Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But since Essential Properties Realty Trust is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. 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.

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.

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.