Over the past year, many Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. 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.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Charles River Laboratories International

The Corporate Executive VP & Chief People Officer, Victoria Creamer, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.3m worth of shares at a price of US$254 each. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$183. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 6.94k shares worth US$1.2m. On the other hand they divested 21.36k shares, for US$5.2m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Charles River Laboratories International than they bought, over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Charles River Laboratories International Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Charles River Laboratories International. In total, Corporate Executive Vice President of Corporate Development & Strategy Joseph LaPlume dumped US$355k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

Does Charles River Laboratories International Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Charles River Laboratories International insiders own 1.1% of the company, currently worth about US$102m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The Charles River Laboratories International Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Charles River Laboratories International shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Charles River Laboratories International and we suggest you have a look.

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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.