Independent Director Lawrence Jasinski Sold A Bunch Of Shares In LeMaitre Vascular

We'd be surprised if LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAT) shareholders haven't noticed that the Independent Director, Lawrence Jasinski, recently sold US$289k worth of stock at US$92.00 per share. Equally important, that sale actually reduced their holding by a full 55% which hardly makes us feel bullish about the stock.

See our latest analysis for LeMaitre Vascular

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At LeMaitre Vascular

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Chairman & CEO, George LeMaitre, for US$7.5m worth of shares, at about US$75.94 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$81.37. 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. 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 4.6% of George LeMaitre's holding.

Insiders in LeMaitre Vascular didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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

Insider Ownership Of LeMaitre Vascular

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that LeMaitre Vascular insiders own 8.8% of the company, worth about US$164m. 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 LeMaitre Vascular Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought LeMaitre Vascular 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. But since LeMaitre Vascular is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing LeMaitre Vascular. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of LeMaitre Vascular.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.