We'd be surprised if Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBC) shareholders haven't noticed that the Independent Director, Sammy Schalk, recently sold US$423k worth of stock at US$42.26 per share. That sale was 11% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

Southern Missouri Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Sammy Schalk is the biggest insider sale of Southern Missouri Bancorp shares that we've seen in the last year. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$42.90. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 1.54k shares for US$54k. On the other hand they divested 10.00k shares, for US$423k. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

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. It appears that Southern Missouri Bancorp insiders own 17% of the company, worth about US$84m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Southern Missouri Bancorp Tell Us?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of Southern Missouri Bancorp stock, than buying, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We're in no rush to buy! 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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Southern Missouri Bancorp you should be aware of.

Of course Southern Missouri Bancorp may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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.

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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.