We'd be surprised if Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) shareholders haven't noticed that the Independent Director, Angel Martinez, recently sold US$295k worth of stock at US$79.00 per share. That sale was 13% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Korn Ferry

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the President, Gary Burnison, sold US$4.2m worth of shares at a price of US$70.61 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$78.61). 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. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 22% of Gary Burnison's holding.

Insiders in Korn Ferry didn't buy any shares in 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!

I will like Korn Ferry better if I see some big insider buys.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Korn Ferry insiders own about US$58m worth of shares. That equates to 1.4% of the company. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Korn Ferry Insiders?

Insiders sold Korn Ferry shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But it is good to see that Korn Ferry is growing earnings. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Korn Ferry. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Korn Ferry.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.