While it’s been a great week for Limbach Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMB) shareholders after stock gained 16%, they should consider it with a grain of salt. The fact that insiders chose to dispose of US$670k worth of stock in the past 12 months even though prices were relatively low could be indicative of some anticipated weakness.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

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Limbach Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Director, Michael McNally, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$400k worth of shares at a price of US$51.56 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$80.63, 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. 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 12% of Michael McNally's stake.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 6.01k shares for US$357k. But they sold 12.97k shares for US$670k. In total, Limbach Holdings insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. The average sell price was around US$51.66. It's not too encouraging to see that insiders have sold at below the current price. Of course, the sales could be motivated for a multitude of reasons, so we shouldn't jump to conclusions. 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!

See our latest analysis for Limbach Holdings

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).

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Limbach Holdings insiders own about US$84m worth of shares. That equates to 9.5% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Limbach Holdings Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no Limbach Holdings insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. Our analysis of Limbach Holdings insider transactions leaves us cautious. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Limbach Holdings .

But note: Limbach Holdings 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.

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