Insiders were net sellers of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc.'s (NYSE:HIG ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders sold more stock than they bought.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

See our latest analysis for Hartford Insurance Group

Hartford Insurance Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Executive VP & Chief Risk Officer, Robert Paiano, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.5m worth of shares at a price of US$111 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$120. 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 34% of Robert Paiano's stake. Robert Paiano was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

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!

I will like Hartford Insurance Group better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Hartford Insurance Group insiders own 0.3% of the company, currently worth about US$113m based on the recent share price. 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 Do The Hartford Insurance Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Hartford Insurance Group shares in the last quarter. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the Hartford Insurance Group insiders selling. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Hartford Insurance Group.

Of course Hartford Insurance Group 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.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.