We wouldn't blame The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Yael Cosset, the Executive VP & Chief Digital Officer recently netted about US$1.8m selling shares at an average price of US$58.80. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 19%, which is notable but not too bad.

Kroger Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Yael Cosset was the biggest sale of Kroger 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$58.61. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Does Kroger Boast High 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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Kroger insiders own about US$129m worth of shares (which is 0.4% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Kroger Insiders?

An insider sold Kroger shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company.

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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.