By selling US$1.4m worth of The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:TBBK) stock at an average sell price of US$25.03 over the last year, insiders seemed to have made the most of their holdings. The company's market cap plunged by US$111m after price dropped by 7.6% last week but insiders were able to limit their loss to an extent.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Bancorp

Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Lead Director, Michael Bradley, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.2m worth of shares at a price of US$24.45 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$23.94. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

Bancorp insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Does Bancorp Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Bancorp insiders own 3.3% of the company, worth about US$45m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Bancorp Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Bancorp shares in the last quarter. Still, the insider transactions at Bancorp in the last 12 months are not very heartening. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

Of course Bancorp 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, 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.