Quite a few Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC) insiders sold their shares over the past year, which may be a cause for concern. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Nicolet Bankshares

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Independent Director, Susan Merkatoris, sold US$406k worth of shares at a price of US$83.49 per share. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$82.37. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. 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).

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$107k for 1.90k shares. On the other hand they divested 31.39k shares, for US$2.5m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Nicolet Bankshares than they bought, over the last year. 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!

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Nicolet Bankshares Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Nicolet Bankshares. Specifically, insiders ditched US$884k 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.

Insider Ownership Of Nicolet Bankshares

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Nicolet Bankshares insiders own about US$150m worth of shares (which is 12% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Nicolet Bankshares Tell Us?

Insiders sold Nicolet Bankshares shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. 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 Nicolet Bankshares has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.

But note: Nicolet Bankshares 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.