Whilst it may not be a huge deal, we thought it was good to see that the Graham Holdings Company (NYSE:GHC) Independent Director, Thomas Gayner, recently bought US$56k worth of stock, for US$556 per share. However, it only increased their shares held by 1.9%, and it wasn't a huge purchase by absolute value, either.

Check out our latest analysis for Graham Holdings

Graham Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the VP & Chief Accounting Officer, Marcel Snyman, sold US$77k worth of shares at a price of US$605 per share. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$553. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign. Marcel Snyman was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 280.00 shares for US$161k. On the other hand they divested 128.00 shares, for US$77k. Overall, Graham Holdings insiders were net buyers during the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, 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 Graham Holdings Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Graham Holdings insiders own 16% of the company, worth about US$420m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Graham Holdings Tell Us?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Graham Holdings insiders are well aligned, and quite possibly think the share price is too low. One for the watchlist, at least! 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 Graham Holdings you should know about.