Some MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the President, Erik Gershwind, recently sold a substantial US$720k worth of stock at a price of US$96.00 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 0.4%.

See our latest analysis for MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by President Erik Gershwind was not their only sale of MSC Industrial Direct shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched US$97.91 per share in a -US$1.3m sale. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$96.43. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

In the last year MSC Industrial Direct insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!

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Does MSC Industrial Direct 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that MSC Industrial Direct insiders own 23% of the company, worth about US$1.2b. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The MSC Industrial Direct Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold MSC Industrial Direct shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. 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. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for MSC Industrial Direct that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

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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.

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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.