Over the past year, insiders sold US$1.3m worth of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) stock at an average price of US$244 per share allowing them to get the most out of their money. The company's market worth decreased by US$1.5b over the past week after the stock price dropped 5.7%, although insiders were able to minimize their losses

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the insider, William McLaughlin, for US$1.2m worth of shares, at about US$244 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$182. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last year AvalonBay Communities insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of AvalonBay Communities

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that AvalonBay Communities insiders own 0.3% of the company, worth about US$77m. 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 AvalonBay Communities 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 AvalonBay Communities insiders. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing AvalonBay Communities. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for AvalonBay Communities (1 is potentially serious) you should be aware of.

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.