Chief Operating Officer of VersaBank USA R. Clarke Sold A Bunch Of Shares In VersaBank

We'd be surprised if VersaBank (TSE:VBNK) shareholders haven't noticed that the Chief Operating Officer of VersaBank USA, R. Clarke, recently sold CA$353k worth of stock at CA$20.18 per share. Equally important, that sale actually reduced their holding by a full 83% which hardly makes us feel bullish about the stock.

Check out our latest analysis for VersaBank

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At VersaBank

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when insider Telemaco Matrundola bought CA$500k worth of shares at a price of CA$14.54 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of CA$20.39. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 118.15k shares for CA$1.7m. But insiders sold 71.70k shares worth CA$1.2m. Overall, VersaBank insiders were net buyers during 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!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. VersaBank insiders own about CA$71m worth of shares. That equates to 13% 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 Do The VersaBank Insider Transactions Indicate?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at VersaBank, in the last three months. On the other hand, the insider transactions over the last year are encouraging. We like that insiders own a fair amount of the company. So we're happy enough to look past some selling. 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. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for VersaBank you should know about.

But note: VersaBank 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.