While it’s been a great week for M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB) shareholders after stock gained 10%, they should consider it with a grain of salt. Although prices were relatively low, insiders chose to sell US$24m worth of stock in the past 12 months. This could be a sign of impending weakness.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for M&T Bank

M&T Bank Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Chairman & CEO, Rene Jones, for US$4.5m worth of shares, at about US$194 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$213). When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 22% of Rene Jones's holding.

In the last year M&T Bank 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. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Insiders At M&T Bank Have Sold Stock Recently

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of M&T Bank shares. In total, insiders sold US$16m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Does M&T Bank Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that M&T Bank insiders own 0.5% of the company, worth about US$164m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The M&T Bank Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for M&T Bank and we suggest you have a look.