In the last year, many Sylvamo Corporation (NYSE:SLVM) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. 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.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Sylvamo Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Chairman & CEO, Jean-Michel Ribiéras, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$770k worth of shares at a price of US$62.94 each. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$57.06. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

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

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

Insiders At Sylvamo Have Sold Stock Recently

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Sylvamo. In total, insiders dumped US$1.9m 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.

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Sylvamo insiders own 0.8% of the company, worth about US$18m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Sylvamo Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought Sylvamo stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. For example, Sylvamo has 4 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) we think you should know about.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.