Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) insiders who acquired shares over the previous 12 months, can probably afford to ignore the recent 8.9% decline in the stock price. Reason being, despite the recent loss, insiders original purchase value of US$1.8m is now worth US$1.9m.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Herbalife Nutrition

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Herbalife Nutrition

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when President John DeSimone bought US$937k worth of shares at a price of US$21.54 per share. That implies that an insider found the current price of US$22.75 per share to be enticing. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. Happily, the Herbalife Nutrition insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

In the last twelve months Herbalife Nutrition insiders were buying shares, but not selling. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Herbalife Nutrition

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Herbalife Nutrition insiders own 1.8% of the company, worth about US$39m. 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 Herbalife Nutrition Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Herbalife Nutrition insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. For example - Herbalife Nutrition has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

Of course Herbalife Nutrition 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, but not derivative transactions.

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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.