A number of Limbach Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMB) insiders sold their shares in the last year, which may have raised concerns among investors. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.

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.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Limbach Holdings

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Independent Director, Michael McNally, sold US$400k worth of shares at a price of US$51.56 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$98.03. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 12% of Michael McNally's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$307k for 5.48k shares. But they sold 12.97k shares for US$670k. All up, insiders sold more shares in Limbach Holdings than they bought, over the last year. The sellers received a price of around US$51.66, on average. It's not particularly great to see insiders were selling shares at below recent prices. Since insiders sell for many reasons, we wouldn't put too much weight on it. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Limbach Holdings Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen a bit of insider selling at Limbach Holdings. Independent Chairman of the Board Joshua Horowitz sold US$65k worth of shares in that time. But US$25k was spent on buying, too, . While it's not great to see insider selling, the net amount sold isn't enough for us to want to read anything into it.

Insider Ownership

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. It appears that Limbach Holdings insiders own 8.7% of the company, worth about US$96m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Limbach Holdings Insiders?

Insider selling has just outweighed insider buying in the last three months. But the difference is small, and thus, not concerning. Recent insider selling makes us a little nervous, in light of the broader picture of Limbach Holdings insider transactions. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Limbach Holdings.

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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.