From what we can see, insiders were net sellers in Portillo's Inc.'s (NASDAQ:PTLO ) during the past 12 months. That is, insiders sold the stock in greater numbers than they purchased it.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Portillo's Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the President, Michael Osanloo, sold US$680k worth of shares at a price of US$10.29 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$11.44). 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 46% of Michael Osanloo's stake. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Michael Osanloo.

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!

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Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Portillo's insiders own 2.8% of the company, worth about US$23m. 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 Portillo's Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. Our analysis of Portillo's insider transactions leaves us cautious. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Portillo's has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

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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.