We wouldn't blame US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that William Hancock, the Executive VP & Chief Supply Chain Officer recently netted about US$2.4m selling shares at an average price of US$108. That sale reduced their total holding by 21% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

US Foods Holding Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The insider, James Works, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$4.5m worth of shares at a price of US$96.52 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$111, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. 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. It is worth noting that this sale was only 42% of James Works's holding.

In the last year US Foods Holding insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. US Foods Holding insiders own 0.6% of the company, currently worth about US$152m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At US Foods Holding Tell Us?

An insider hasn't bought US Foods Holding stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But since US Foods Holding is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. 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 US Foods Holding. While conducting our analysis, we found that US Foods Holding has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

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.