Some Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Senior VP, John Anderson, recently sold a substantial US$677k worth of stock at a price of US$27.08 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 17% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

Knowles Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by John Anderson was the biggest sale of Knowles shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$26.65. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. 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).

Insiders in Knowles didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like Knowles better if I see some big insider buys.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Knowles insiders own about US$38m worth of shares. That equates to 1.7% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Knowles Tell Us?

Insiders sold Knowles shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But it is good to see that Knowles 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. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Knowles. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Knowles.

But note: Knowles may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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.