Molina Healthcare Insiders Sell US$2.7m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution

Many Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

We check all companies for important risks. See what we found for Molina Healthcare in our free report.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Molina Healthcare

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary, Jeffrey Barlow, for US$1.8m worth of shares, at about US$335 per share. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$322. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

Insiders in Molina Healthcare didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Check out our latest analysis for Molina Healthcare

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).

Insiders At Molina Healthcare Have Sold Stock Recently

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Molina Healthcare. Specifically, Independent Director Steven Orlando ditched US$301k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Does Molina Healthcare Boast High 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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Molina Healthcare insiders own 1.3% of the company, worth about US$223m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Molina Healthcare Insiders?

An insider hasn't bought Molina Healthcare stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. On the plus side, Molina Healthcare makes money, and is growing profits. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Molina Healthcare, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.