By selling US$757k worth of Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) stock at an average sell price of US$31.55 over the last year, insiders seemed to have made the most of their holdings. After the stock price dropped 12% last week, the company's market value declined by US$863m, but insiders were able to mitigate their losses.

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.

Fluor Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Executive VP & Chief Human Resources Officer, Stacy Dillow, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$606k worth of shares at a price of US$30.30 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$37.02). 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. We note that the biggest single sale was only 30% of Stacy Dillow's holding.

Fluor insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.8% of Fluor shares, worth about US$51m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Fluor Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Fluor shares in the last quarter. Our analysis of Fluor insider transactions leaves us cautious. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Fluor. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Fluor you should be aware of.

But note: Fluor 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.