Over the past year, many The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Buckle

The Senior Vice President of Leasing, Brett Milkie, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$568k worth of shares at a price of US$37.89 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$38.73, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 10% of Brett Milkie's holding.

In total, Buckle 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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Have Buckle Insiders Traded Recently?

Over the last three months, we've seen a bit of insider selling at Buckle. President Dennis Nelson only netted US$8.9k selling shares, in that period. Neither the lack of buying nor the presence of selling is heartening. But the selling simply isn't sufficiently substantial to be of much use as a signal.

Does Buckle Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that Buckle insiders own 41% of the company, worth about US$784m. 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 Buckle Insiders?

While there has not been any insider buying in the last three months, there has been selling. But the sales were small, so we're not concerned. It's heartening that insiders own plenty of stock, but we'd like to see more insider buying, since the last year of Buckle insider transactions don't fill us with confidence. 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've found that Buckle has 2 warning signs (1 is a bit concerning!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

Of course Buckle 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.