Have Insiders Sold Lakeland Financial Shares Recently?

We'd be surprised if Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) shareholders haven't noticed that the Chairman & CEO, David Findlay, recently sold US$432k worth of stock at US$67.06 per share. However, the silver lining is that the sale only reduced their total holding by 4.9%, so we're hesitant to read anything much into it, on its own.

See our latest analysis for Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Chairman & CEO David Findlay was not their only sale of Lakeland Financial shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched US$65.26 per share in a -US$783k sale. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$68.87. 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 8.5% of David Findlay's stake.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 5.30k shares worth US$351k. But they sold 48.14k shares for US$3.3m. In total, Lakeland Financial 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 want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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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. Lakeland Financial insiders own about US$49m worth of shares. That equates to 2.8% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Lakeland Financial Tell Us?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Lakeland Financial, in the last three months. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We'd practice some caution before buying! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for Lakeland Financial that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

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.