Investors who take an interest in Strattec Security Corporation (NASDAQ:STRT) should definitely note that the Senior VP, Mathew Pauli, recently paid US$62.53 per share to buy US$125k worth of the stock. That's a very decent purchase to our minds and it grew their holding by a solid 25%.

Strattec Security Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the insider, Rolando Guillot, for US$1.5m worth of shares, at about US$65.86 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of US$66.91. 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was 81% of Rolando Guillot's holding.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 4.60k shares for US$286k. But insiders sold 25.89k shares worth US$1.7m. In total, Strattec Security 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. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like Strattec Security better if I see some big insider buys.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Strattec Security insiders own 7.9% of the company, worth about US$22m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Strattec Security Tell Us?

It is good to see recent purchasing. However, the longer term transactions are not so encouraging. The more recent transactions are a positive, but Strattec Security insiders haven't shown the sustained enthusiasm that we look for, although they do own a decent number of shares, overall. So they seem pretty well aligned, overall. 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.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.