Over the past year, many Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. 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.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Lennox International

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive VP & Chief HR Officer, Daniel Sessa, sold US$1.8m worth of shares at a price of US$368 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$451). 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. We note that the biggest single sale was only 12% of Daniel Sessa's holding.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Lennox International shares, than buying. 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 Lennox International

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Lennox International insiders own about US$640m worth of shares (which is 4.0% 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 Lennox International Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Lennox International shares in the last quarter. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the Lennox International insiders selling. While we like knowing 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. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Lennox International and understanding it should be part of your investment process.

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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.