Peapack-Gladstone Financial Senior EVP & President of Commercial Banking Gregory Smith Sells 98% Of Holding

We wouldn't blame Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:PGC) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Gregory Smith, the Senior EVP & President of Commercial Banking recently netted about US$563k selling shares at an average price of US$31.95. That diminished their holding by a very significant 98%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.

View our latest analysis for Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Gregory Smith is the biggest insider sale of Peapack-Gladstone Financial shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$31.65. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

In the last year Peapack-Gladstone Financial insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Peapack-Gladstone Financial insiders own about US$54m worth of shares. That equates to 9.8% 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.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Peapack-Gladstone Financial Tell Us?

Insiders haven't bought Peapack-Gladstone Financial stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. For example - Peapack-Gladstone Financial has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

Of course Peapack-Gladstone Financial 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.