We wouldn't blame Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Mark Vondrasek, the Executive VP & Chief Commercial Officer recently netted about US$1.5m selling shares at an average price of US$185. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 48%, which is notable but not too bad.

Hyatt Hotels Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The President, Mark Hoplamazian, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$20m worth of shares at a price of US$158 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$185. 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. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 21% of Mark Hoplamazian's holding.

In the last year Hyatt Hotels insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Insider Ownership Of Hyatt Hotels

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. It's great to see that Hyatt Hotels insiders own 10% of the company, worth about US$1.7b. 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 Do The Hyatt Hotels Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Hyatt Hotels. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Hyatt Hotels has 2 warning signs (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

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.