Some PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:PMT) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the President, Douglas Jones, recently sold a substantial US$519k worth of stock at a price of US$14.01 per share. That diminished their holding by a very significant 73%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust

The Independent Trustee, Scott Carnahan, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$539k worth of shares at a price of US$15.40 each. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$13.79. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

All up, insiders sold more shares in PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust than they bought, 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 want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

I will like PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust insiders own 1.0% of the company, worth about US$12m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust Insiders?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But since PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (2 shouldn't be ignored) you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.