Some The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the President of Global Industrial, Karl Jorgenrud, recently sold a substantial US$2.9m worth of stock at a price of US$368 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 37%, which is notable but not too bad.

Sherwin-Williams Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Karl Jorgenrud is the biggest insider sale of Sherwin-Williams shares that we've seen in the last year. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$360. 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 year Sherwin-Williams insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Does Sherwin-Williams Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Sherwin-Williams insiders own about US$296m worth of shares (which is 0.3% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The Sherwin-Williams Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Sherwin-Williams shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But since Sherwin-Williams is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company.

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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.