Anyone interested in Fossil Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FOSL) should probably be aware that the Independent Director, Gail Tifford, recently divested US$306k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$5.49 each. That sale was 41% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

Fossil Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The CEO & Director Franco Fogliato made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$360k worth of shares at a price of US$1.82 each. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$5.61), we still think insider buying is a positive. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 443.12k shares for US$1.1m. But insiders sold 55.67k shares worth US$306k. In total, Fossil Group insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. The average buy price was around US$2.39. It is certainly positive to see that insiders have invested their own money in the company. However, we do note that they were buying at significantly lower prices than today's share price. 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!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

Does Fossil Group Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Fossil Group insiders own 9.1% of the company, worth about US$29m. 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 Fossil Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of Fossil Group stock, than buying, in the last three months. But we take heart from prior transactions. We like that insiders own a fair amount of the company. So the recent selling doesn't worry us too much. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company.

Of course Fossil Group 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.