Have Federal Agricultural Mortgage Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We wouldn't blame Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Mitchell Johnson, the Independent Director recently netted about US$513k selling shares at an average price of US$205. That sale reduced their total holding by 22% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

See our latest analysis for Federal Agricultural Mortgage

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive VP, Stephen Mullery, for US$1.1m worth of shares, at about US$216 per share. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$209. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Federal Agricultural Mortgage 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. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Insider Ownership Of Federal Agricultural Mortgage

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Federal Agricultural Mortgage insiders own about US$30m worth of shares. That equates to 1.4% 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 Federal Agricultural Mortgage Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought Federal Agricultural Mortgage stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. On the plus side, Federal Agricultural Mortgage makes money, and is growing profits. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Federal Agricultural Mortgage you should be aware of, and 1 of them is a bit concerning.

Of course Federal Agricultural Mortgage 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.