We wouldn't blame Tongcheng Travel Holdings Limited (HKG:780) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Jianzhang Liang, the Non-Executive Co-Chairman recently netted about HK$134m selling shares at an average price of HK$18.34. Probably the most concerning element of the whole transaction is that the disposal amounted to 53% of their entire holding.

Tongcheng Travel Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Jianzhang Liang was the biggest sale of Tongcheng Travel Holdings shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of HK$16.76. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. 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).

Jianzhang Liang divested 16.11m shares over the last 12 months at an average price of CN¥19.63. 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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Insider Ownership Of Tongcheng Travel Holdings

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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Tongcheng Travel Holdings insiders own 1.3% of the company, worth about HK$502m. 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 Tongcheng Travel Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought Tongcheng Travel Holdings stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But since Tongcheng Travel Holdings is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for Tongcheng Travel Holdings that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

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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.