Have Wells Fargo Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We wouldn't blame Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Ather Williams, a company insider, recently netted about US$3.8m selling shares at an average price of US$63.70. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 27%, which is notable but not too bad.

View our latest analysis for Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Ather Williams was the biggest sale of Wells Fargo shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at below the current price (US$63.89). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. 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 27% of Ather Williams's holding.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Wells Fargo than they bought, over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. 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: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Wells Fargo insiders own 0.1% of the company, worth about US$233m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Wells Fargo Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold Wells Fargo shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. On the plus side, Wells Fargo makes money, and is growing profits. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Wells Fargo and we suggest you have a look.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.