We'd be surprised if Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW) shareholders haven't noticed that the Executive VP & General Counsel, Gregory Karawan, recently sold US$396k worth of stock at US$9.91 per share. That sale was 10% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Genworth Financial

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the President, Thomas McInerney, for US$927k worth of shares, at about US$9.27 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$9.91). When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. 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. This single sale was just 1.8% of Thomas McInerney's stake.

In the last year Genworth Financial insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!

I will like Genworth Financial better if I see some big insider buys.

Insider Ownership Of Genworth Financial

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Genworth Financial insiders own about US$86m worth of shares. That equates to 2.3% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Genworth Financial Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold Genworth Financial 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 Genworth Financial is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! 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.