We wouldn't blame Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Mark Bolus, the Independent Director recently netted about US$817k selling shares at an average price of US$67.00. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 8.8%.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Community Financial System

In fact, the recent sale by Mark Bolus was the biggest sale of Community Financial System shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$68.45, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 8.8% of Mark Bolus's holding.

In the last year Community Financial System insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!

I will like Community Financial System better if I see some big insider buys.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Community Financial System insiders own 0.9% of the company, worth about US$33m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Community Financial System Tell Us?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But it is good to see that Community Financial System is growing earnings. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. 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. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Community Financial System.

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.

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.