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Over the past year, many Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Aflac

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the President of Aflac International & Chairman of Aflac Life Insurance Japan, Charles Ditmars Lake, sold US$3.2m worth of shares at a price of US$108 per share. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$107. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

Insiders in Aflac didn't buy any shares in the last year. 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!

View our latest analysis for Aflac

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Aflac Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Aflac. In total, President of Aflac International & Chairman of Aflac Life Insurance Japan Charles Ditmars Lake sold US$3.2m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

Insider Ownership Of Aflac

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's great to see that Aflac insiders own 0.8% of the company, worth about US$466m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.