Insiders who bought Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) stock lover the last 12 months are probably not as affected by last week's 3.4% loss. After taking the recent loss into consideration, the US$1.4m worth of stock they bought is now worth US$1.5m, indicating that their investment yielded a positive return.

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.

See our latest analysis for Strategic Education

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Strategic Education

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Executive Chairman of the Board Robert Silberman bought US$783k worth of shares at a price of US$61.14 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is US$63.67. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. Happily, the Strategic Education insider decided to buy shares at close to current prices. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Robert Silberman.

Robert Silberman bought 23.00k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$59.26. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Strategic Education is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Does Strategic Education 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 Strategic Education insiders own 2.9% of the company, worth about US$44m. 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 Strategic Education Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Strategic Education insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. 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. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for Strategic Education that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

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.