The fact that multiple CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for CVS Health

CVS Health Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive VP, Prem Shah, sold US$2.3m worth of shares at a price of US$76.95 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$55.54. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$695k for 12.18k shares. But they sold 55.23k shares for US$4.2m. All up, insiders sold more shares in CVS Health than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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).

Insiders At CVS Health Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last quarter, CVS Health insiders have spent a meaningful amount on shares. Not only was there no selling that we can see, but they collectively bought US$554k worth of shares. This makes one think the business has some good points.

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that CVS Health insiders own 0.1% of the company, worth about US$105m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The CVS Health Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see recent purchasing. On the other hand the transaction history, over the last year, isn't so positive. The high levels of insider ownership, and the recent buying by some insiders suggests they are well aligned and optimistic. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing CVS Health. For example - CVS Health has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

But note: CVS Health 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.