Ingevity Corporation (NYSE:NGVT) shareholders might have a reason to worry after multiple insiders sold their shares over the last year. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Ingevity Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Executive VP & President of Performance Materials, Stuart Woodcock, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$408k worth of shares at a price of US$82.14 each. 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$45.68. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

Ingevity insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. 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!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Does Ingevity Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. From our data, it seems that Ingevity insiders own 0.6% of the company, worth about US$9.6m. Overall, this level of ownership isn't that impressive, but it's certainly better than nothing!

So What Do The Ingevity Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Ingevity insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Ingevity insiders. And usually insiders own more stock in the company, according to our data. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Ingevity and we suggest you have a look.

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.