Many Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Keysight Technologies Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive VP & CFO, Neil Dougherty, for US$2.3m worth of shares, at about US$159 per share. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$155. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Keysight Technologies shares, than buying. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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

Have Keysight Technologies Insiders Traded Recently?

We saw some Keysight Technologies insider buying shares in the last three months. In that period Independent Director Kevin Stephens spent US$66k on shares. On the other hand, VP, Chief Accounting Officer & Corporate Controller Lisa Poole sold US$60k worth of shares. While it's good to see the insider buying, the net amount bought isn't enough for us to gain much confidence from it.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Keysight Technologies insiders own 0.5% of the company, currently worth about US$142m based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Keysight Technologies Insiders?

We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). That said, the purchases were not large. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we'd need to see more buying to gain confidence from the Keysight Technologies insider transactions. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.