Shareholders might want to keep a close eye on Elevance Health Inc. (NYSE:ELV) after insiders sold US$609k stock earlier this year

Despite a 3.7% gain in Elevance Health Inc.'s (NYSE:ELV) stock price this week, shareholders shouldn't let up. The fact that insiders chose to dispose of US$609k worth of stock in the past 12 months even though prices were relatively low could be indicative of some anticipated weakness.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for Elevance Health

Elevance Health Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Senior VP, Ronald Penczek, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$401k worth of shares at a price of US$464 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$514. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent 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 39% of Ronald Penczek's holding.

In the last year Elevance Health insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

insider-trading-volume
insider-trading-volume

I will like Elevance Health better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership

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. Elevance Health insiders own 0.1% of the company, currently worth about US$140m based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Elevance Health Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Elevance Health shares in the last quarter. It's heartening that insiders own plenty of stock, but we'd like to see more insider buying, since the last year of Elevance Health insider transactions don't fill us with confidence. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Elevance Health, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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, but not derivative transactions.

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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.

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