Quite a few Alamo Group Inc. (NYSE:ALG) insiders sold their shares over the past year, which may be a cause for concern. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Alamo Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the insider, Michael Haberman, for US$398k worth of shares, at about US$225 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$184. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Alamo Group insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Insiders At Alamo Group Have Sold Stock Recently

We have seen a bit of insider selling at Alamo Group, over the last three months. Senior Vice President of Corporate Human Resources Janet Pollock sold just US$50k worth of shares in that time. It's not great to see insider selling, nor the lack of recent buyers. But the volume sold is so low that it really doesn't bother us.

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. Alamo Group insiders own about US$34m worth of shares. That equates to 1.5% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Alamo Group Tell Us?

We did not see any insider buying in the last three months, but we did see selling. However, the sales are not big enough to concern us at all. Recent insider selling makes us a little nervous, in light of the broader picture of Alamo Group insider transactions. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

But note: Alamo Group 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.

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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.