Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the Executive VP & CFO, Andrew Asher, recently bought a whopping US$1.0m worth of stock, at a price of US$58.14. There's no denying a buy of that magnitude suggests conviction in a brighter future, although we do note that proportionally it only increased their holding by 7.9%.

Centene Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent purchase by Andrew Asher is the biggest insider purchase of Centene shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$57.46). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$1.3m for 21.32k shares. But insiders sold 20.88k shares worth US$1.6m. In total, Centene insiders sold more than they bought over 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!

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

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Centene insiders own about US$116m worth of shares (which is 0.4% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Centene Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. On the other hand the transaction history, over the last year, isn't so positive. The recent buying by some insiders , along with high insider ownership, suggest that Centene insiders are fairly aligned, and optimistic. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Centene, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

Of course Centene 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.