We wouldn't blame Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Leon Topalian, the President recently netted about US$2.6m selling shares at an average price of US$176. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 9.6%.

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Nucor Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by President Leon Topalian was not the only time they sold Nucor shares this year. They previously made an even bigger sale of -US$3.3m worth of shares at a price of US$168 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$177). 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. It is worth noting that this sale was only 11% of Leon Topalian's holding.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Nucor than they bought, over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. 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 Of Nucor

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Nucor insiders own 0.6% of the company, currently worth about US$258m based on the recent share price. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Nucor Insiders?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Nucor, in the last three months. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Nucor you should be aware of, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored.

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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.