Insiders were net sellers of CBIZ, Inc.'s (NYSE:CBZ ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders sold more stock than they bought.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At CBIZ

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Senior VP & CFO, Ware Grove, for US$644k worth of shares, at about US$79.11 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$80.78, 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 2.7% of Ware Grove's stake. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Ware Grove.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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CBIZ Insiders Are Selling The Stock

There was substantially more insider selling, than buying, of CBIZ shares over the last three months. In total, Senior VP & CFO Ware Grove sold US$644k worth of shares in that time. On the flip side, Independent Director Rodney Young spent US$78k on purchasing shares (as mentioned above) . Because the selling vastly outweighs the buying, we'd say this is a somewhat bearish sign.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. CBIZ insiders own about US$202m worth of shares (which is 5.0% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About CBIZ Insiders?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at CBIZ, in the last three months. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that CBIZ has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

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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.