Green Dot Corporation (NYSE:GDOT) insiders who purchased shares in the last 12 months were richly rewarded last week. The stock climbed by 12% resulting in a US$74m addition to the company’s market value. In other words, the original US$299.1k purchase is now worth US$412.2k.

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.

See our latest analysis for Green Dot

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Green Dot

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Chief Revenue Officer Chris Ruppel for US$299k worth of shares, at about US$9.16 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of US$12.49. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

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. Our data indicates that Green Dot insiders own about US$8.0m worth of shares (which is 1.2% of the company). We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Green Dot Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. While we have no worries about the insider transactions, we'd be more comfortable if they owned more Green Dot stock. 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. For example - Green Dot has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.