In the last year, many The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE:BK) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders’ attention. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.
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 Bank of New York Mellon
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Bank of New York Mellon
The insider, Catherine Keating, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.7m worth of shares at a price of US$55.01 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at below the current price (US$55.27). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. 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. It is worth noting that this sale was only 45% of Catherine Keating’s holding.
Bank of New York Mellon insiders didn’t buy any shares over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
I will like Bank of New York Mellon better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Bank of New York Mellon Insiders Are Selling The Stock
Over the last three months, we’ve seen significant insider selling at Bank of New York Mellon. In total, insiders sold US$2.6m worth of shares in that time, and we didn’t record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it’s not the be all and end all.
Insider Ownership
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 0.1% of Bank of New York Mellon shares, worth about US$56m. 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 Bank of New York Mellon Insiders?
Insiders haven’t bought Bank of New York Mellon stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn’t see any purchases. But since Bank of New York Mellon is profitable and growing, we’re not too worried by this. Insiders own shares, but we’re still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we’d only buy after careful consideration. So while it’s helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it’s also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. You’d be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Bank of New York Mellon and we suggest you have a look.
Of course Bank of New York Mellon may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
