While it's been a great week for Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYBT) shareholders after stock gained 11%, not so much for insiders who sold stock over the past year. The value of their investment would have been higher had they waited to sell their stock.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for Stock Yards Bancorp

Stock Yards Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The insider, Darrell Wells, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$197k worth of shares at a price of US$72.49 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$42.77). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 5.75k shares worth US$321k. But insiders sold 6.43k shares worth US$418k. All up, insiders sold more shares in Stock Yards Bancorp than they bought, over the last year. The sellers received a price of around US$65.05, on average. Insider selling doesn't make us excited to buy. But we note that the selling, on average, was at well above the recently traded price of US$42.77. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like Stock Yards Bancorp better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of Stock Yards Bancorp

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that Stock Yards Bancorp insiders own 8.2% of the company, worth about US$103m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Stock Yards Bancorp Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no Stock Yards Bancorp insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the Stock Yards Bancorp insiders selling. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Stock Yards Bancorp and we suggest you have a look.

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.