Some Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the President, Thomas McInerney, recently sold a substantial US$1.0m worth of stock at a price of US$6.88 per share. However, that sale only accounted for 2.9% of their holding, so arguably it doesn't say much about their conviction.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Genworth Financial

In fact, the recent sale by President Thomas McInerney was not their only sale of Genworth Financial shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched US$6.27 per share in a -US$1.3m sale. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$6.91). 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. This single sale was just 3.7% of Thomas McInerney's stake.

Thomas McInerney divested 550.00k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$6.40. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart 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 Genworth Financial

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Genworth Financial insiders own 2.0% of the company, worth about US$58m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Genworth Financial Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Genworth Financial you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.