When a single insider purchases stock, it is typically not a major deal. However, when multiple insiders purchase stock, like in Heritage Financial Corporation's (NASDAQ:HFWA) instance, it's good news for shareholders.

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.

View our latest analysis for Heritage Financial

Heritage Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Lead Independent Director Brian Charneski for US$84k worth of shares, at about US$16.70 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$18.58. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

While Heritage Financial insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. 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!

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

Heritage Financial Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen a bit of insider buying at Heritage Financial. Independent Director Frederick Rivera bought US$14k worth of shares in that time. It's good to see the insider buying, as well as the lack of recent sellers. But the amount invested in the last three months isn't enough for us too put much weight on it, as a single factor.

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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Heritage Financial insiders own 1.8% of the company, worth about US$12m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Heritage Financial Insiders?

Insider purchases may have been minimal, in the last three months, but there was no selling at all. Overall the buying isn't worth writing home about. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders own shares in Heritage Financial and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Heritage Financial. For example - Heritage Financial has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.