We wouldn't blame The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Richard Kyle, the Director recently netted about US$2.3m selling shares at an average price of US$76.59. That sale reduced their total holding by 13% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Timken

In fact, the recent sale by Director Richard Kyle was not their only sale of Timken shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched US$90.21 per share in a -US$4.5m sale. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$74.50). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

In the last year Timken insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!

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).

Does Timken Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that Timken insiders own 5.7% of the company, worth about US$300m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Timken Tell Us?

Insiders haven't bought Timken stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Be aware that Timken is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is significant...

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.