Have Insiders Sold SmartFinancial Shares Recently?

We'd be surprised if SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) shareholders haven't noticed that the Independent Director, John Presley, recently sold US$320k worth of stock at US$21.34 per share. That sale was 25% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

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SmartFinancial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by John Presley was the biggest sale of SmartFinancial shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$22.19, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 25% of John Presley's holding.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 17.87k shares for US$366k. But insiders sold 17.13k shares worth US$369k. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of SmartFinancial shares, than buying. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. SmartFinancial insiders own about US$60m worth of shares. That equates to 16% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About SmartFinancial Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought SmartFinancial stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing SmartFinancial. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for SmartFinancial that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.