Some The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chief Legal Officer & Secretary, Jeannette Knudsen, recently sold a substantial US$645k worth of stock at a price of US$116 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 17% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At J. M. Smucker

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the CFO and Executive VP of Frozen Handheld & Spreads and Sweet Baked Snacks, Tucker Marshall, for US$1.2m worth of shares, at about US$108 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$116, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 24% of Tucker Marshall's stake.

All up, insiders sold more shares in J. M. Smucker than they bought, over 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!

I will like J. M. Smucker better if I see some big insider buys.

Does J. M. Smucker 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. J. M. Smucker insiders own 2.0% of the company, currently worth about US$253m based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At J. M. Smucker Tell Us?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. 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. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing J. M. Smucker. For example - J. M. Smucker has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

Of course J. M. Smucker 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.