We would not blame Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) shareholders if they are a little concerned that advisor Svend Andersen recently raised around $969,000 by selling shares at an average price of $27.69. This sale reduced their total holdings by 30%, which is not insignificant, but far from the worst we have seen.

Check out our latest analysis for Perrigo

Perrigo’s insider transactions in the last year

Notably, this recent sale by Svend Andersen is the largest insider sale of Perrigo shares we’ve seen in the last year. This means that an insider sold shares at a price just below the current price ($29.25). We generally view it as a negative when insiders have sold, especially if they did so below the current price, as it implies that they felt a lower price was appropriate. However, please note that sellers may have various reasons for selling, so we don’t know for sure what they think of the share price. We note that the largest single sale was only 30% of Svend Andersen’s shares.

Over the last year, insiders have purchased 44,500 shares worth $1.3 million. On the other hand, they have disposed of 34,980 shares worth $969,000. Over the last twelve months, insiders have bought more shares than they have sold at Perrigo. Below is a visual representation of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including share price, individual, and date!

Perrigo is not the only stock that insiders are buying, so take a look at these free List of companies with insider purchases that remain under the radar.

Insider ownership of Perrigo

Another way to test alignment between a company’s leaders and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Typically, we like to see a relatively high level of insider ownership. Insiders own 0.5% of Perrigo’s shares, which is worth about $20 million. We’ve certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these levels are enough to indicate alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What could Perrigo’s insider transactions tell us?

Unfortunately, there have been more insider sales than purchases of Perrigo shares over the past three months. In contrast, they seem to have been more interested in it over the past twelve months. We like that insiders own a sizable portion of the company, so we are not too concerned by the recent sales. While it is good to know about insider ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider the risks associated with a stock before making an investment decision. For example: Perrigo has 2 warning signs In our opinion, you should be aware of this.

Naturally Perrigo may not be the best stock to buy. You may want to see this free Collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulator. Currently, we only consider open market transactions and private disposals of direct holdings, but not derivative transactions or indirect holdings.

Do you have feedback on this article? Are you concerned about the content? Contact us directly from us. Alternatively, send an email to editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This Simply Wall St article is of a general nature. We comment solely on the basis of historical data and analyst forecasts, using an unbiased methodology. Our articles do not constitute financial advice. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stock and does not take into account your objectives or financial situation. Our goal is to provide you with long-term analysis based on fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not take into account the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative materials. Simply Wall St does not hold any of the stocks mentioned.