Anyone interested in BV Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:BVFL) should probably be aware that the Independent Director, Joseph Galli, recently divested US$222k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$19.84 each. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 11% in their holding.

BV Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Independent Director Joseph Galli was not their only sale of BV Financial shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched US$16.17 per share in a -US$461k sale. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$20.11, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 17% of Joseph Galli's stake.

Joseph Galli divested 77.39k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$18.51. 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!

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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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that BV Financial insiders own 16% of the company, worth about US$26m. 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 BV Financial Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold BV Financial shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. On the plus side, BV Financial 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! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing BV Financial.

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.