Potential Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) shareholders may wish to note that the Independent Director, Charles Sonsteby, recently bought US$395k worth of stock, paying US$39.50 for each share. We reckon that's a good sign, especially since the purchase boosted their holding by 61%.

Check out our latest analysis for Valvoline

Valvoline Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by Charles Sonsteby was the biggest purchase of Valvoline shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$40.10. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider bought shares at close to current prices. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Charles Sonsteby.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Valvoline is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

Does Valvoline 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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 0.6% of Valvoline shares, worth about US$33m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Valvoline Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Valvoline insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Valvoline. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Valvoline and we suggest you have a look.

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 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.