Some Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chair, CEO & President, Kathy Warden, recently sold a substantial US$14m worth of stock at a price of US$709 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 10%, which is notable but not too bad.

Northrop Grumman Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Kathy Warden is the biggest insider sale of Northrop Grumman shares that we've seen in the last year. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$703. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

Insiders in Northrop Grumman didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Insider Ownership Of Northrop Grumman

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. Northrop Grumman insiders own 0.1% of the company, currently worth about US$142m 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.

So What Do The Northrop Grumman Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought Northrop Grumman stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But it is good to see that Northrop Grumman is growing earnings. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Northrop Grumman has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.

Of course Northrop Grumman 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.