Some Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the CEO & Director, Glenn Williams, recently sold a substantial US$818k worth of stock at a price of US$205 per share. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 7.8%.

Check out our latest analysis for Primerica

Primerica Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Executive VP & COO, Gregory Pitts, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.8m worth of shares at a price of US$185 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$207. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was 73% of Gregory Pitts's holding.

In the last year Primerica insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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

Does Primerica 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Primerica insiders own about US$39m worth of shares. That equates to 0.5% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Primerica Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Primerica shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. On the plus side, Primerica makes money, and is growing profits. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. While conducting our analysis, we found that Primerica has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

But note: Primerica may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.