Ingevity Corporation (NYSE:NGVT) shareholders may have reason to be concerned, as several insiders sold their shares over the past 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, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

See our latest analysis for Ingevity

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Ingevity

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive VP & President of Performance Materials, Stuart Woodcock, for US$408k worth of shares, at about US$82.14 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 good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$37.93. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

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

I will like Ingevity better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Does Ingevity 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. Insiders own 0.5% of Ingevity shares, worth about US$7.4m, according to our data. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

So What Do The Ingevity Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. The insider transactions at Ingevity are not inspiring us to buy. We also note that, as far as we can see, insider ownership is fairly low, compared to other companies. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Ingevity. For example, Ingevity has 3 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) we think you should know about.

But note: Ingevity 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.