Some Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chief Supply Chain Officer, Duoduo Huang, recently sold a substantial US$918k worth of stock at a price of US$47.07 per share. Probably the most concerning element of the whole transaction is that the disposal amounted to 72% of their entire holding.

Yum China Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the CEO & Executive Director, Joey Wat, for US$5.7m worth of shares, at about US$55.18 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$49.52. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Insiders in Yum China Holdings 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 want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Does Yum China Holdings 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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 0.4% of Yum China Holdings shares, worth about US$75m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Yum China Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought Yum China Holdings stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But it is good to see that Yum China Holdings is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company.

But note: Yum China Holdings 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.