Insiders were net sellers of Burlington Stores, Inc.'s (NYSE:BURL ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders sold more stock than they bought.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Burlington Stores Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Group President & Chief Merchandising Officer, Jennifer Vecchio, for US$1.1m worth of shares, at about US$225 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$179). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it. Jennifer Vecchio was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

I will like Burlington Stores better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insiders At Burlington Stores Have Sold Stock Recently

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Burlington Stores. Specifically, Group President & Chief Merchandising Officer Jennifer Vecchio ditched US$1.1m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 0.3% of Burlington Stores shares, worth about US$34m. 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 Do The Burlington Stores Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Burlington Stores shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But it is good to see that Burlington Stores is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Burlington Stores. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Burlington Stores that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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.