Who Has Been Selling Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO) Shares?

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO).

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock in the company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.'

See our latest analysis for Astronics

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Astronics

The Executive VP of Finance, David Burney, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$105k worth of shares at a price of US$26.20 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$28.18. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was only 10.7% of David Burney's holding. David Burney was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insiders at Astronics Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen notably more insider selling, than insider buying, at Astronics. We note David Burney cashed in US$105k worth of shares. Meanwhile Corporate Controller & Principal Accounting Officer Nancy Hedges bought US$2.7k worth, as we said above. Since the selling really does outweigh the buying, we'd say that these transactions may suggest that some insiders feel the company has been fully valued in recent months.

Insider Ownership of Astronics

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. Insiders own 5.2% of Astronics shares, worth about US$47m. 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 Do The Astronics Insider Transactions Indicate?

The stark truth for Astronics is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But since Astronics is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Astronics.

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, but not derivative transactions.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.