We wouldn't blame Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Gregory Moore, the Independent Chairman recently netted about US$625k selling shares at an average price of US$208. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 10%, which is notable but not too bad.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Texas Roadhouse

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Chief Technology Officer, Hernan Mujica, for US$850k worth of shares, at about US$170 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$203. 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 24% of Hernan Mujica's holding.

Texas Roadhouse 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 Texas Roadhouse better if I see some big insider buys.

Insider Ownership Of Texas Roadhouse

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. It appears that Texas Roadhouse insiders own 0.5% of the company, worth about US$72m. 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 Texas Roadhouse 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. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Texas Roadhouse.

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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.