Over the past year, many Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Hubbell Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive VP & CFO, William Sperry, sold US$5.3m worth of shares at a price of US$353 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$380. 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. 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. This single sale was just 28% of William Sperry's stake.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 1.45k shares for US$496k. On the other hand they divested 22.53k shares, for US$8.1m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Hubbell than they bought, over the last year. 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!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Hubbell Insiders Are Selling The Stock

We've seen more insider selling than insider buying at Hubbell recently. In that time, insiders dumped US$1.2m worth of shares. On the flip side, insiders spent US$246k on purchasing shares. Generally this level of net selling might be considered a bit bearish.

Does Hubbell Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Hubbell insiders own about US$71m worth of shares. That equates to 0.3% 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 Hubbell Insider Transactions Indicate?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of Hubbell stock, than buying, in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But since Hubbell is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. 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. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Hubbell that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com