Some Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Senior VP, Omkaram Nalamasu, recently sold a substantial US$3.8m worth of stock at a price of US$162 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 16%, which is notable but not too bad.

See our latest analysis for Applied Materials

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Applied Materials

Notably, that recent sale by Omkaram Nalamasu is the biggest insider sale of Applied Materials shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was selling shares at below the current price (US$163). When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. 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. We note that the biggest single sale was only 16%of Omkaram Nalamasu's holding.

Insiders in Applied Materials didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Does Applied Materials Boast High 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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Applied Materials insiders own 0.4% of the company, currently worth about US$481m based on the recent share price. 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 Applied Materials Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Applied Materials shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. On the plus side, Applied Materials makes money, and is growing profits. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Applied Materials and we suggest you have a look.

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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.