We'd be surprised if Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) shareholders haven't noticed that the Independent Director, Jeffrey Kindler, recently sold US$497k worth of stock at US$28.27 per share. In particular, we note that the sale equated to a 76% reduction in their position size, which doesn't exactly instill confidence.

Perrigo Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Advisor, Svend Andersen, sold US$969k worth of shares at a price of US$27.86 per share. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$27.29. 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.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 20.91k shares for US$554k. But insiders sold 74.54k shares worth US$2.1m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Perrigo 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. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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. Insiders own 0.4% of Perrigo shares, worth about US$15m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Perrigo Tell Us?

Insiders haven't bought Perrigo stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! 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. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Perrigo has 2 warning signs (1 shouldn't be ignored!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

But note: Perrigo 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.