Some Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the President of Asia-Pacific, Elie Melhem, recently sold a substantial US$679k worth of stock at a price of US$301 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 20% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

Watts Water Technologies Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Chairman, Robert Pagano, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$5.3m worth of shares at a price of US$330 each. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$297). So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

Insiders in Watts Water Technologies didn't buy any shares in 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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Does Watts Water Technologies 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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that Watts Water Technologies insiders own 19% of the company, worth about US$1.9b. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Watts Water Technologies Tell Us?

Insiders sold Watts Water Technologies shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But since Watts Water Technologies is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. For example - Watts Water Technologies has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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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.