Some Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Independent Director, Rhodes Bobbitt, recently sold a substantial US$1.3m worth of stock at a price of US$40.08 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 37% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

Hilltop Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The insider, Gerald Ford, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$9.9m worth of shares at a price of US$37.98 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$39.34. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 1.6% of Gerald Ford's holding.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Hilltop Holdings shares, than buying. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Insider Ownership Of Hilltop Holdings

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Hilltop Holdings insiders own 33% of the company, currently worth about US$759m based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Hilltop Holdings Tell Us?

An insider sold Hilltop Holdings shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But it is good to see that Hilltop Holdings is growing earnings. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Be aware that Hilltop Holdings is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is significant...

Of course Hilltop Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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.