Some Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chairman & CEO, David Findlay, recently sold a substantial US$728k worth of stock at a price of US$75.51 per share. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 7.5%.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Lakeland Financial

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the insider, Michael Kubacki, sold US$1.9m worth of shares at a price of US$71.51 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$73.22). 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. We note that the biggest single sale was only 40% of Michael Kubacki's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$374k for 5.66k shares. But insiders sold 78.21k shares worth US$5.4m. In total, Lakeland Financial insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Insider Ownership Of Lakeland Financial

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Lakeland Financial insiders own about US$53m worth of shares. That equates to 2.8% 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.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Lakeland Financial Insiders?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Lakeland Financial, in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But it is good to see that Lakeland Financial is growing earnings. 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. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Lakeland Financial has 2 warning signs (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

But note: Lakeland Financial 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.