Insiders at Green Dot Corporation (NYSE:GDOT) sold US$475k worth of stock at an average price of US$36.53 a share over the past year, making the most of their investment. The company's market cap plunged by US$113m after price dropped by 10% last week but insiders were able to limit their loss to an extent.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Green Dot

Green Dot Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Director, Rajeev Date, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$279k worth of shares at a price of US$44.53 each. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$18.75). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Insiders in Green Dot 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 want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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

Does Green Dot 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. Green Dot insiders own about US$14m 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 Do The Green Dot Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Green Dot insiders. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Green Dot.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.

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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.