Viewing insider transactions for The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.'s (NYSE:EL ) over the last year, we see that insiders were net sellers. This means that a larger number of shares were sold by insiders in relation to shares purchased.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

See our latest analysis for Estée Lauder Companies

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Estée Lauder Companies

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive Officer, Tracey Travis, for US$2.0m worth of shares, at about US$136 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$73.31. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it. Tracey Travis was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like Estée Lauder Companies better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insiders At Estée Lauder Companies Have Bought Stock Recently

There was some insider buying at Estée Lauder Companies over the last quarter. Executive VP & CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought US$46k worth of shares in that time. It's great to see that insiders are only buying, not selling. But in this case the amount purchased means the recent transaction may not be very meaningful on its own.

Insider Ownership Of Estée Lauder Companies

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Estée Lauder Companies insiders own about US$3.3b worth of shares (which is 13% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Estée Lauder Companies Insiders?

We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). The net investment is not enough to encourage us much. While we gain confidence from high insider ownership of Estée Lauder Companies, we can't say the same about their transactions in the last year, in the absence of further purchases. 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. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Estée Lauder Companies you should know about.

Of course Estée Lauder Companies 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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