We wouldn't blame Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Michael Achary, the Senior EVP recently netted about US$1.7m selling shares at an average price of US$76.18. That sale reduced their total holding by 34% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

Hancock Whitney Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The President, John Hairston, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$4.7m worth of shares at a price of US$74.36 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$76.94. 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 22% of John Hairston's stake.

Insiders in Hancock Whitney didn't buy any shares in the last year. 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!

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).

Insider Ownership Of Hancock Whitney

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Hancock Whitney insiders own 0.6% of the company, worth about US$36m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Hancock Whitney Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold Hancock Whitney shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! 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 Hancock Whitney.

But note: Hancock Whitney may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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.