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Have Insiders Been Selling Bank of Marin Bancorp (NASDAQ:BMRC) Shares This Year?

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sell Bank of Marin Bancorp (NASDAQ:BMRC), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Buying?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

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See our latest analysis for Bank of Marin Bancorp

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Bank of Marin Bancorp

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the President, Russell Colombo, sold US$215k worth of shares at a price of US$42.00 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$45.15. 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. It is worth noting that this sale was only 5.6% of Russell Colombo's holding.

We note that in the last year insiders divested 21683 shares for a total of US$917k. Bank of Marin Bancorp insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

NasdaqCM:BMRC Recent Insider Trading, November 8th 2019
NasdaqCM:BMRC Recent Insider Trading, November 8th 2019

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insiders at Bank of Marin Bancorp Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Bank of Marin Bancorp. In total, insiders dumped US$299k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Does Bank of Marin Bancorp Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Bank of Marin Bancorp insiders own about US$73m worth of shares. That equates to 12% 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.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Bank of Marin Bancorp Insiders?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But since Bank of Marin Bancorp is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Bank of Marin Bancorp, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

But note: Bank of Marin Bancorp 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, but not derivative transactions.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.