Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) shareholders might have a reason to worry after multiple insiders sold their shares over the last year. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

The Independent Director, Scott Prince, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$403k worth of shares at a price of US$10.10 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$8.70. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Insiders in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance didn't buy any shares in the last year. 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!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. From our data, it seems that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance insiders own 0.6% of the company, worth about US$8.0m. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. Overall, this level of ownership isn't that impressive, but it's certainly better than nothing!

What Might The Insider Transactions At Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance insiders. And usually insiders own more stock in the company, according to our data. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Our analysis shows 2 warning signs for Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (1 can't be ignored!) and we strongly recommend you look at them before investing.

But note: Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.