We'd be surprised if Ryerson Holding Corporation (NYSE:RYI) shareholders haven't noticed that the Corporate Controller & Chief Accounting Officer, Molly Kannan, recently sold US$113k worth of stock at US$26.05 per share. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 21% in their holding.

Ryerson Holding Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the insider, Alagu Sundarrajan, sold US$327k worth of shares at a price of US$32.97 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$24.45). So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 6.13k shares worth US$145k. But they sold 25.34k shares for US$785k. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Ryerson Holding shares, than buying. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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

Insider Ownership Of Ryerson Holding

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Ryerson Holding insiders own about US$32m worth of shares. That equates to 4.0% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Ryerson Holding Insiders?

An insider sold Ryerson Holding shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. 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. Our analysis shows 4 warning signs for Ryerson Holding (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) and we strongly recommend you look at them before investing.

Of course Ryerson Holding 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.