Some Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chief Accounting Officer & Controller, Richard Cary, recently sold a substantial US$3.2m worth of stock at a price of US$323 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 12%, which is notable but not too bad.

Arthur J. Gallagher Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Corporate VP & CFO, Douglas Howell, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$4.0m worth of shares at a price of US$250 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$329). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 16% of Douglas Howell's holding.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Arthur J. Gallagher shares, than buying. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

I will like Arthur J. Gallagher better if I see some big insider buys.

Does Arthur J. Gallagher Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Arthur J. Gallagher insiders own about US$863m worth of shares (which is 1.1% 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 Does This Data Suggest About Arthur J. Gallagher Insiders?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of Arthur J. Gallagher stock, than buying, in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But it is good to see that Arthur J. Gallagher is growing earnings. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. 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. Gallagher you should know about.

But note: Arthur J. Gallagher 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.