We wouldn't blame United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Matthew Flannery, the President recently netted about US$22m selling shares at an average price of US$985. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 19%, which is notable but not too bad.

United Rentals Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Matthew Flannery is the biggest insider sale of United Rentals shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$974. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

In total, United Rentals insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. United Rentals insiders own about US$274m worth of shares (which is 0.4% of the company). 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 United Rentals Insider Transactions Indicate?

The stark truth for United Rentals is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. On the plus side, United Rentals makes money, and is growing profits. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. 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.

But note: United Rentals may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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.