We'd be surprised if Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRTG) shareholders haven't noticed that the President of Narragansett Bay Insurance Company, Timothy Moura, recently sold US$491k worth of stock at US$32.49 per share. However, the silver lining is that the sale only reduced their total holding by 9.4%, so we're hesitant to read anything much into it, on its own.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Heritage Insurance Holdings

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Independent Chairman, Richard Widdicombe, for US$2.4m worth of shares, at about US$24.52 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$33.27, 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 14% of Richard Widdicombe's stake.

In total, Heritage Insurance Holdings insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Does Heritage Insurance Holdings Boast High 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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Heritage Insurance Holdings insiders own about US$218m worth of shares (which is 23% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Heritage Insurance Holdings Tell Us?

The stark truth for Heritage Insurance Holdings is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. On the plus side, Heritage Insurance Holdings makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. 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. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Heritage Insurance Holdings.

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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.