Anyone interested in USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NYSE:USNA) should probably be aware that the Chief People Officer, Paul Jones, recently divested US$129k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$18.95 each. Equally important, that sale actually reduced their holding by a full 55% which hardly makes us feel bullish about the stock.

USANA Health Sciences Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Paul Jones was the biggest sale of USANA Health Sciences shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$18.30. 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.

USANA Health Sciences insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

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. USANA Health Sciences insiders own 41% of the company, currently worth about US$139m based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At USANA Health Sciences Tell Us?

Insiders sold USANA Health Sciences shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. 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. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that USANA Health Sciences has 3 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.

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.