We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ).

What Is Insider Selling?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

View our latest analysis for First Business Financial Services

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At First Business Financial Services

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Chair of the Board Gerald Kilcoyne bought US$100k worth of shares at a price of US$14.75 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of US$19.26. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

In the last twelve months First Business Financial Services insiders were buying shares, but not selling. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

First Business Financial Services is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

First Business Financial Services Insiders Bought Stock Recently

There was some insider buying at First Business Financial Services over the last quarter. Independent Director Carol Sanders bought US$26k worth of shares in that time. It's great to see that insiders are only buying, not selling. However, in this case the amount invested recently is quite small.

Does First Business Financial Services 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. From our data, it seems that First Business Financial Services insiders own 5.7% of the company, worth about US$9.5m. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.