Over the past year, many Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Barrett Business Services

The President, Gary Kramer, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.1m worth of shares at a price of US$48.53 each. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$29.44). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it. Notably Gary Kramer was also the biggest buyer, having purchased US$804k worth of shares.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 23.87k shares worth US$804k. On the other hand they divested 68.17k shares, for US$3.2m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Barrett Business Services than they bought, over the last year. The average sell price was around US$46.75. We are not joyful about insider selling. However, we do note that the average sale price was significantly higher than the current share price (which is US$29.44). The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Barrett Business Services Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Barrett Business Services. Not only was there no selling that we can see, but they collectively bought US$338k worth of shares. This is a positive in our book as it implies some confidence.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Barrett Business Services insiders own 4.9% of the company, worth about US$37m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Barrett Business Services Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. However, the longer term transactions are not so encouraging. While recent transactions indicate confidence in Barrett Business Services, insiders don't own enough of the company to overcome our cautiousness about the longer term transactions. So they seem pretty well aligned, overall. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

Of course Barrett Business Services 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.