Yahoo Finance Insiders At Ameriprise Financial Sold US$34m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness
Over the past year, many Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. 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.
View our latest analysis for Ameriprise Financial
Ameriprise Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chairman & CEO, James Cracchiolo, sold US$8.9m worth of shares at a price of US$409 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$428. 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. We note that the biggest single sale was only 12% of James Cracchiolo's holding.
Ameriprise Financial 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. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
I will like Ameriprise Financial better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Insiders At Ameriprise Financial Have Sold Stock Recently
The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Ameriprise Financial shares. Specifically, Presiding Independent Director Robert Sharpe ditched US$657k 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 Ameriprise Financial Boast High Insider Ownership?
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Ameriprise Financial insiders own about US$75m worth of shares. That equates to 0.2% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Ameriprise Financial Tell Us?
An insider sold Ameriprise Financial shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But it is good to see that Ameriprise Financial is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Ameriprise Financial.
Of course Ameriprise Financial 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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
