Potential Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) shareholders may wish to note that the Independent Director, Janet Pelton, recently bought US$107k worth of stock, paying US$25.09 for each share. Although the purchase only increased their holding by 7.1%, it is still a solid purchase in our view.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Oak Valley Bancorp

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Chairman of Board H. Holder for US$156k worth of shares, at about US$25.97 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$25.45). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$487k for 19.09k shares. But they sold 1.40k shares for US$35k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Oak Valley Bancorp insiders. 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!

View our latest analysis for Oak Valley Bancorp

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Oak Valley Bancorp

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Oak Valley Bancorp insiders own about US$38m worth of shares. That equates to 18% 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.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Oak Valley Bancorp Tell Us?

The recent insider purchases are heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Oak Valley Bancorp we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.