Viewing insider transactions for Flowers Foods, Inc.'s (NYSE:FLO ) over the last year, we see that insiders were net sellers. This means that a larger number of shares were sold by insiders in relation to shares purchased.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Flowers Foods Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chief Growth Officer, Terry Thomas, sold US$845k worth of shares at a price of US$23.11 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$20.45. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price. Terry Thomas was the only individual insider to sell 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

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Flowers Foods insiders own 7.3% of the company, worth about US$316m. 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 Flowers Foods Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Flowers Foods shares in the last quarter. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the Flowers Foods insiders selling. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Flowers Foods. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Flowers Foods you should be aware of.

But note: Flowers Foods may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.

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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.