From what we can see, insiders were net buyers in McDonald's Corporation's (NYSE:MCD ) during the past 12 months. That is, insiders acquired the stock in greater numbers than they sold it.

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.

See our latest analysis for McDonald's

McDonald's Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The insider Catherine Engelbert made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$244k worth of shares at a price of US$244 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$242). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Catherine Engelbert.

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

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Does McDonald's Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. McDonald's insiders own about US$67m worth of shares. That equates to 0.04% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At McDonald's Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Insiders likely see value in McDonald's shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for McDonald's and we suggest you have a look.