Some Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Executive VP and Chief People, Sean Woodroffe, recently sold a substantial US$869k worth of stock at a price of US$34.75 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 30%, which is notable but not too bad.

Lincoln National Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Sean Woodroffe was the biggest sale of Lincoln National shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$34.74. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$94k for 2.30k shares. But insiders sold 54.57k shares worth US$2.0m. In total, Lincoln National 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!

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).

Does Lincoln National 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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 0.6% of Lincoln National shares, worth about US$39m. 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 Lincoln National Insider Transactions Indicate?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Lincoln National, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But it is good to see that Lincoln National is growing earnings. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Lincoln National.

But note: Lincoln National 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.