Anyone interested in Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN) should probably be aware that the Independent Director, Thomas Bradley, recently divested US$259k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$51.72 each. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 21% in their holding.

Horace Mann Educators Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The President, Marita Zuraitis, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$327k worth of shares at a price of US$46.16 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$52.47). 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. We note that the biggest single sale was only 6.6% of Marita Zuraitis's holding.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 3.68k shares for US$157k. But they sold 21.26k shares for US$1.0m. In total, Horace Mann Educators insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. 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).

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Horace Mann Educators insiders own 0.6% of the company, worth about US$13m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Horace Mann Educators Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought Horace Mann Educators stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. On the plus side, Horace Mann Educators makes money, and is growing profits. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. 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.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.