We wouldn't blame XPO, Inc. (NYSE:XPO) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Christopher Brown, the Chief Accounting Officer recently netted about US$1.0m selling shares at an average price of US$202. That sale reduced their total holding by 14% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

XPO Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Christopher Brown is the biggest insider sale of XPO shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$211). 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. It is worth noting that this sale was only 14% of Christopher Brown's holding.

XPO insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Does XPO Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. XPO insiders own about US$532m worth of shares (which is 2.2% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At XPO Tell Us?

Insiders sold XPO 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 XPO is growing earnings. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that XPO has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

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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.