We wouldn't blame Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE:KMB) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Jeffrey Melucci, the Chief Business & Transformation Officer recently netted about US$1.9m selling shares at an average price of US$136. That sale reduced their total holding by 41% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Kimberly-Clark

Notably, that recent sale by Jeffrey Melucci is the biggest insider sale of Kimberly-Clark 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$136, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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. 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. We note that the biggest single sale was only 41%of Jeffrey Melucci's holding.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Kimberly-Clark than they bought, over the last year. 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 Of Kimberly-Clark

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 0.2% of Kimberly-Clark shares, worth about US$87m. 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 Kimberly-Clark Insiders?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Kimberly-Clark. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 3 warning signs with Kimberly-Clark and understanding these 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.