Some Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Independent Director, Steven Karol, recently sold a substantial US$2.7m worth of stock at a price of US$181 per share. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 3.5%.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Carpenter Technology

Notably, that recent sale by Independent Director Steven Karol was not the only time they sold Carpenter Technology shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched US$101 per share in a -US$3.1m sale. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$191. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 6.8% of Steven Karol's stake.

Steven Karol sold a total of 46.00k shares over the year at an average price of US$127. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and 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!

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Does Carpenter Technology Boast High 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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Carpenter Technology insiders own about US$215m worth of shares (which is 2.4% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Carpenter Technology Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Carpenter Technology shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But since Carpenter Technology is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company.

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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.

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.