Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In Centene

Some Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Director, Kenneth Burdick, recently sold a substantial US$2.6m worth of stock at a price of US$39.02 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 16% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

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Centene Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Kenneth Burdick was the biggest sale of Centene shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$38.34. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 62.17k shares for US$2.8m. On the other hand they divested 66.01k shares, for US$2.6m. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Centene insiders. The average buy price was around US$44.36. This is nice to see since it implies that insiders might see value around current prices. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Check out our latest analysis for Centene

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 0.4% of Centene shares, worth about US$68m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Centene Insiders?

An insider hasn't bought Centene stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. On the other hand, the insider transactions over the last year are encouraging. It's good to see insiders are shareholders. So we're not overly bothered by recent selling. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Centene.

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.