We'd be surprised if ScanSource, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCSC) shareholders haven't noticed that the Lead Independent Director, Peter Browning, recently sold US$309k worth of stock at US$41.17 per share. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 20% in their holding.

ScanSource Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Peter Browning is the biggest insider sale of ScanSource shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$41.92, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 20% of Peter Browning's holding.

In the last year ScanSource insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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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Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 1.9% of ScanSource shares, worth about US$20m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The ScanSource Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought ScanSource 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. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing ScanSource. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for ScanSource and we suggest you have a look.

Of course ScanSource may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

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.