Some Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Independent Director, David Bannister, recently sold a substantial US$1.8m worth of stock at a price of US$177 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 29% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

Landstar System Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The VP, General Counsel & Secretary, Michael Kneller, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$2.3m worth of shares at a price of US$190 each. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$192, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. 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. It is worth noting that this sale was only 17% of Michael Kneller's holding.

Landstar System insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does Landstar System 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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Landstar System insiders own 0.8% of the company, worth about US$50m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Landstar System Tell Us?

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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Landstar System has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

But note: Landstar System 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.