While Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) shareholders have had a good week with the stock up 4.9%, insiders can't say the same having sold stock over the past year. The return on their investment would have been much higher had they held on to their stock.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Stryker

Stryker Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Independent Director, Srikant T. Datar, for US$130k worth of shares, at about US$217 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$254). When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was only 1.9% of Srikant T. Datar's holding.

Stryker insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. 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!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insiders At Stryker Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Stryker. Specifically, insiders ditched US$268k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Does Stryker Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by 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. It's great to see that Stryker insiders own 11% of the company, worth about US$11b. 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 Stryker Insiders?

Insiders sold Stryker shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But it is good to see that Stryker is growing earnings. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Stryker has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.