Many Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. 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 we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Molina Healthcare Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Senior EVP, Mark Keim, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$5.8m worth of shares at a price of US$389 each. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$319). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Insiders in Molina Healthcare didn't buy any shares in 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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Insiders At Molina Healthcare Have Sold Stock Recently

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Molina Healthcare. In total, Chief Accounting Officer Maurice Hebert dumped US$136k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

Does Molina Healthcare 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Molina Healthcare insiders own about US$212m worth of shares (which is 1.1% of the company). 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 Molina Healthcare Insiders?

An insider hasn't bought Molina Healthcare stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But it is good to see that Molina Healthcare is growing earnings. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Molina Healthcare.

Of course Molina Healthcare 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.