Yahoo Finance Insiders At U.S. Bancorp Sold US$3.5m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness
Many U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
View our latest analysis for U.S. Bancorp
U.S. Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chief Administration Officer & Vice Chair, Terrance Dolan, sold US$1.0m worth of shares at a price of US$39.75 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$43.94. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 13% of Terrance Dolan's stake.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$2.5m for 78.36k shares. But insiders sold 84.67k shares worth US$3.5m. In total, U.S. Bancorp insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Insiders At U.S. Bancorp Have Sold Stock Recently
Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at U.S. Bancorp. In total, Vice Chairman of Consumer & Business Banking Timothy Welsh dumped US$488k 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.
Insider Ownership Of U.S. Bancorp
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It's great to see that U.S. Bancorp insiders own 0.2% of the company, worth about US$156m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At U.S. Bancorp Tell Us?
An insider hasn't bought U.S. Bancorp stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for U.S. Bancorp.
But note: U.S. Bancorp may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
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.
