Some BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chairman & CEO, Laurence Fink, recently sold a substantial US$2.0m worth of stock at a price of US$731 per share. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 0.4%.
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At BlackRock
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the President & Director, Robert Kapito, sold US$42m worth of shares at a price of US$483 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$720. 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 23% of Robert Kapito's holding.
BlackRock 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!
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Insider Ownership of BlackRock
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. BlackRock insiders own 1.2% of the company, currently worth about US$1.3b based on the recent share price. 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 BlackRock Tell Us?
Insiders sold BlackRock shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But since BlackRock is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing BlackRock. While conducting our analysis, we found that BlackRock has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore it.
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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, but not derivative transactions.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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