Over the past year, many Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

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.

Elevance Health Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive VP & President of Government Health Benefits, Felicia Norwood, sold US$6.8m worth of shares at a price of US$535 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$432. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Insiders in Elevance Health didn't buy any shares in the last year. 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!

Check out our latest analysis for Elevance Health

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).

Insiders At Elevance Health Have Sold Stock Recently

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Elevance Health shares. Specifically, insiders ditched US$1.6m 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 Elevance Health Boast High 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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Elevance Health insiders own about US$115m worth of shares (which is 0.1% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Elevance Health Insiders?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But since Elevance Health is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Elevance Health and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

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.