VP, Secretary & General Counsel Michelle Keating Sold A Bunch Of Shares In Kennametal

We wouldn't blame Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Michelle Keating, the VP, Secretary & General Counsel recently netted about US$611k selling shares at an average price of US$30.54. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 44%, which is notable but not too bad.

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Kennametal Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the VP & Chief Administrative Officer, Judith Bacchus, for US$1.6m worth of shares, at about US$40.23 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. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$29.64. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Kennametal shares, than buying. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Check out our latest analysis for Kennametal

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Does Kennametal Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Kennametal insiders own 1.1% of the company, worth about US$27m. 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 Kennametal Insider Transactions Indicate?

The stark truth for Kennametal is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. On the plus side, Kennametal makes money, and is growing profits. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Kennametal (of which 2 are significant!) you should know about.

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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.