The fact that multiple HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. 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, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the insider, Michael Cuffe, for US$2.0m worth of shares, at about US$317 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$354). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 18% of Michael Cuffe's holding.

Insiders in HCA Healthcare didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does HCA Healthcare Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company 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. It's great to see that HCA Healthcare insiders own 1.5% of the company, worth about US$1.3b. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About HCA Healthcare Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. While we feel good about high insider ownership of HCA Healthcare, we can't say the same about the selling of shares. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing HCA Healthcare. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for HCA Healthcare and we suggest you have a look.