We wouldn't blame nVent Electric plc (NYSE:NVT) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Randolph Wacker, the Senior VP recently netted about US$3.7m selling shares at an average price of US$165. That sale reduced their total holding by 44% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

nVent Electric Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the President of Systems Protection, Sara Zawoyski, for US$5.1m worth of shares, at about US$173 per share. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$165. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

All up, insiders sold more shares in nVent Electric than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. nVent Electric insiders own about US$89m worth of shares. That equates to 0.3% of the company. 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 nVent Electric Tell Us?

Insiders sold nVent Electric shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But it is good to see that nVent Electric is growing earnings. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that nVent Electric has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

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.