We wouldn't blame Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Kenneth Jacobson, the Chief Financial Officer recently netted about US$1.0m selling shares at an average price of US$85.26. That sale reduced their total holding by 18% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Avnet

Notably, that recent sale by Kenneth Jacobson is the biggest insider sale of Avnet shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$86.93, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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 Kenneth Jacobson's holding.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Avnet than they bought, 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!

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Insider Ownership Of Avnet

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by 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. It appears that Avnet insiders own 0.7% of the company, worth about US$53m. 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 Avnet Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Avnet shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! 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. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Avnet has 5 warning signs (1 is concerning!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

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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.