Looking at Tempur Sealy International, Inc.'s (NYSE:TPX ) insider transactions over the last year, we can see that insiders were net sellers. That is, there were more number of shares sold by insiders than there were purchased.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Tempur Sealy International

The Executive Vice President of International, Hansbart Wijnand, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$599k worth of shares at a price of US$50.31 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$51.79. 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was only 30% of Hansbart Wijnand's holding. Hansbart Wijnand 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).

Does Tempur Sealy International 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 Tempur Sealy International insiders own 3.3% of the company, worth about US$285m. 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 Tempur Sealy International Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Tempur Sealy International insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. While we feel good about high insider ownership of Tempur Sealy International, we can't say the same about the selling of shares. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Tempur Sealy International has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore it.

Of course Tempur Sealy International may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish 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 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.