Some Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Executive VP & Chief Legal Officer, Elizabeth Campbell, recently sold a substantial US$3.7m worth of stock at a price of US$324 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 37%, which is notable but not too bad.

Cencora Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Elizabeth Campbell was the biggest sale of Cencora shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of US$328. 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 37% of Elizabeth Campbell's holding.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 8.55k shares worth US$2.3m. But they sold 24.36k shares for US$8.2m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Cencora than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. 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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Insider Ownership Of Cencora

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Cencora insiders own 0.4% of the company, currently worth about US$242m based on the recent share price. 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 Cencora Insiders?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Cencora, in the last three months. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. But it is good to see that Cencora 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. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision.

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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.