We wouldn't blame Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that David Findlay, the Chairman & CEO recently netted about US$728k selling shares at an average price of US$75.51. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 7.5%.

Lakeland Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the insider, Michael Kubacki, sold US$1.9m worth of shares at a price of US$71.51 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$73.22). When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was only 40% of Michael Kubacki's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$374k for 5.66k shares. On the other hand they divested 78.21k shares, for US$5.4m. In total, Lakeland Financial insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. 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!

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Insider Ownership Of Lakeland Financial

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Lakeland Financial insiders own 2.8% of the company, worth about US$53m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Lakeland Financial Tell Us?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Lakeland Financial, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But since Lakeland Financial is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. 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.

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.

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.