We'd be surprised if Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) shareholders haven't noticed that the President of Warehouse Lending, Martin Schroeter, recently sold US$253k worth of stock at US$46.06 per share. That sale was 34% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Merchants Bancorp

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by President & CEO of Merchants Capital Corp Michael Dury for US$505k worth of shares, at about US$31.86 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$47.63. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 48.76k shares worth US$1.5m. But insiders sold 5.50k shares worth US$253k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Merchants Bancorp insiders. 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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Merchants Bancorp

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Merchants Bancorp insiders own 36% of the company, currently worth about US$785m based on the recent share price. 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 Merchants Bancorp Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. On the other hand, the insider transactions over the last year are encouraging. We are also comforted by the high levels of insider ownership. So the recent selling doesn't worry us. 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.

But note: Merchants Bancorp 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.