Insiders were net sellers of Enterprise Financial Services Corp's (NASDAQ:EFSC ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders sold more stock than they bought.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

See our latest analysis for Enterprise Financial Services

Enterprise Financial Services Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Independent Director, Richard Sanborn, sold US$4.1m worth of shares at a price of US$52.09 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$36.94. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels. Richard Sanborn was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$202k for 4.37k shares. On the other hand they divested 166.54k shares, for US$8.8m. Richard Sanborn ditched 166.54k shares over the year. The average price per share was US$52.74. 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 Enterprise Financial Services better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Are Enterprise Financial Services Insiders Buying Or Selling?

Independent Director Robert Guest bought just US$2.0k worth of shares in that time. That's not much at all. Overall, we don't think these recent trades are particularly informative, one way or the other.

Does Enterprise Financial Services Boast High Insider Ownership?

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. It appears that Enterprise Financial Services insiders own 4.5% of the company, worth about US$62m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Enterprise Financial Services Tell Us?

Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. Overall the buying isn't worth writing home about. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Enterprise Financial Services insiders. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Enterprise Financial Services and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

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.