Some ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Senior VP & Chief Innovation Officer, Michael Newcity, recently sold a substantial US$1.3m worth of stock at a price of US$121 per share. That diminished their holding by a very significant 67%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.

ArcBest Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Michael Newcity is the biggest insider sale of ArcBest shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was selling shares at below the current price (US$122). 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was 67% of Michael Newcity's holding.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of ArcBest shares, than buying. 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!

I will like ArcBest 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

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. ArcBest insiders own about US$44m worth of shares. That equates to 1.6% of the company. 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 ArcBest Tell Us?

An insider sold ArcBest shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But since ArcBest 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. We'd practice some caution before buying! 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. To assist with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of ArcBest.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.