One Merchants Bancorp Insider Has Reduced Their Stake

From what we can see, insiders were net sellers in Merchants Bancorp's (NASDAQ:MBIN ) during the past 12 months. That is, insiders sold the stock in greater numbers than they purchased it.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Merchants Bancorp

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Merchants Bancorp

The Co-founder, Michael Petrie, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1m worth of shares at a price of US$45.34 each. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$40.02). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it. Michael Petrie was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

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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Merchants Bancorp Insiders Bought Stock Recently

It's good to see that Merchants Bancorp insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. We can see that President & CEO of Merchants Capital Corp Michael Dury paid US$106k for shares in the company. No-one sold. This is a positive in our book as it implies some confidence.

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Merchants Bancorp insiders own about US$715m worth of shares (which is 38% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Merchants Bancorp Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. However, the longer term transactions are not so encouraging. The recent buying by an insider , along with high insider ownership, suggest that Merchants Bancorp insiders are fairly aligned, and optimistic. 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. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Merchants Bancorp and understanding it should be part of your investment process.

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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.