Over the last year, a good number of insiders have significantly increased their holdings in CVB Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:CVBF). This is encouraging because it indicates that insiders are more optimistic about the company's prospects.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

CVB Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Vice Chairman of the Board George Borba for US$1m worth of shares, at about US$16.78 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$22.62), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$1.7m for 103.51k shares. But insiders sold 2.96k shares worth US$51k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by CVB Financial insiders. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of CVB Financial

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. CVB Financial insiders own 6.1% of the company, currently worth about US$192m based on the recent share price. 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 CVB Financial Insiders?

The fact that there have been no CVB Financial insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Judging from their transactions, and high insider ownership, CVB Financial insiders feel good about the company's future. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for CVB Financial.

Of course CVB Financial may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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.