This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In Trustmark Corporation (NASDAQ:TRMK)

We wouldn't blame Trustmark Corporation (NASDAQ:TRMK) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Gerard Host, the Executive Chairman recently netted about US$681k selling shares at an average price of US$34.07. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 6.6%.

Check out our latest analysis for Trustmark

Trustmark Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Gerard Host is the biggest insider sale of Trustmark shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$35.50, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. It is worth noting that this sale was only 6.6% of Gerard Host's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$134k for 6.00k shares. But they sold 24.11k shares for US$796k. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Trustmark shares, than buying. 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!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 1.7% of Trustmark shares, worth about US$39m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Trustmark Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought Trustmark stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But it is good to see that Trustmark is growing earnings. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. 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. Be aware that Trustmark is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those shouldn't be ignored...

But note: Trustmark 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, but not derivative transactions.

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