The fact that multiple Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Valley National Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Senior Executive Vice President of Commercial Banking, Joseph Chillura, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$864k worth of shares at a price of US$8.64 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$9.25, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. It is worth noting that this sale was only 14% of Joseph Chillura's holding.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Valley National Bancorp than they bought, over the last year. The sellers received a price of around US$8.55, on average. It's not particularly great to see insiders were selling shares at below recent prices. But we wouldn't put too much weight on the insider selling. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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

Does Valley National Bancorp Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 1.4% of Valley National Bancorp shares, worth about US$68m. 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 Valley National Bancorp Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Valley National Bancorp insiders. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Valley National Bancorp you should be aware of.

But note: Valley National Bancorp 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.