Some Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the CEO & Director, Jason Hollar, recently sold a substantial US$29m worth of stock at a price of US$236 per share. That diminished their holding by a very significant 52%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.

Cardinal Health Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Jason Hollar was the biggest sale of Cardinal Health 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$230. 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 Cardinal Health didn't buy any shares in the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Insider Ownership Of Cardinal Health

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Cardinal Health insiders own about US$66m worth of shares. That equates to 0.1% 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.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Cardinal Health Insiders?

Insiders sold Cardinal Health shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. On the plus side, Cardinal Health makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing.

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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.