By selling US$71k worth of Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) stock at an average sell price of US$83.11 over the last year, insiders seemed to have made the most of their holdings. The company's market worth decreased by US$59m over the past week after the stock price dropped 4.7%, although insiders were able to minimize their losses

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.

View our latest analysis for Jack in the Box

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Independent Director, Michael Murphy, sold US$71k worth of shares at a price of US$83.11 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold 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$57.19. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels. Michael Murphy was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

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 Jack in the Box better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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. From our data, it seems that Jack in the Box insiders own 0.7% of the company, worth about US$8.2m. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Jack in the Box shares in the last quarter. Our analysis of Jack in the Box insider transactions leaves us unenthusiastic. We also note that, as far as we can see, insider ownership is fairly low, compared to other companies. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. When we did our research, we found 3 warning signs for Jack in the Box (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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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