Some Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that insider Edmond Hughes recently sold a substantial US$1.1m worth of stock at a price of US$320 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 29%, which is notable but not too bad.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive VP & President of Mission Technologies, Edgar Green, for US$2.0m worth of shares, at about US$458 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$308). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In total, Huntington Ingalls Industries insiders sold more 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. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 0.7% of Huntington Ingalls Industries shares, worth about US$79m. 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 Huntington Ingalls Industries Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But since Huntington Ingalls Industries is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. 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. To assist with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Huntington Ingalls Industries.

Of course Huntington Ingalls Industries may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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.