We'd be surprised if First Foundation Inc. (NYSE:FFWM) shareholders haven't noticed that the Executive Chairman, Ulrich Keller, recently sold US$204k worth of stock at US$8.16 per share. On the bright side, that sale was only 1.1% of their holding, so we doubt it's very meaningful, on its own.

First Foundation Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the President of First Foundation Advisors & Director, John Hakopian, sold US$1.6m worth of shares at a price of US$9.34 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$7.63). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 37.82k shares worth US$175k. But they sold 241.00k shares for US$2.1m. In total, First Foundation insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Insider Ownership Of First Foundation

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. First Foundation insiders own about US$39m worth of shares. That equates to 9.2% 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 First Foundation Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought First Foundation stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for First Foundation you should be aware of.

Of course First Foundation 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.