Some The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the CEO, President & Director, Meredith Kopit Levien, recently sold a substantial US$761k worth of stock at a price of US$78.00 per share. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 9.2%.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At New York Times

In fact, the recent sale by CEO, President & Director Meredith Kopit Levien was not their only sale of New York Times shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched US$79.70 per share in a -US$4.1m sale. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$74.33. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

Insiders in New York Times didn't buy any shares in the last year. 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!

I will like New York Times better if I see some big insider buys.

Does New York Times Boast High 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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. New York Times insiders own about US$54m worth of shares. That equates to 0.4% of the company. 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 New York Times Tell Us?

Insiders haven't bought New York Times stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But since New York Times is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. 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: New York Times 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.