Some Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Executive VP & COO, Francesca Luthi, recently sold a substantial US$1.2m worth of stock at a price of US$176 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 38% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

Assurant Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Francesca Luthi was the biggest sale of Assurant shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$171. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

Insiders in Assurant didn't buy any shares in the last year. 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!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership Of Assurant

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Assurant insiders own 0.5% of the company, worth about US$47m. 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 Assurant Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought Assurant stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. On the plus side, Assurant makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We'd practice some caution before buying! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Assurant and we suggest you have a look.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.