PNC Financial Services Group Insiders Sell US$2.8m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution

Over the past year, many The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) 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, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for PNC Financial Services Group

PNC Financial Services Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the President and Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking, Michael Lyons, for US$2.0m worth of shares, at about US$182 per share. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$182, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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. 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 5.2% of Michael Lyons's holding.

Insiders in PNC Financial Services Group didn't buy any shares in 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!

I will like PNC Financial Services Group 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.

PNC Financial Services Group Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at PNC Financial Services Group. In total, President and Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking Michael Lyons sold US$2.0m 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 PNC Financial Services Group

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. PNC Financial Services Group insiders own 0.4% of the company, currently worth about US$298m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The PNC Financial Services Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold PNC Financial Services Group shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for PNC Financial Services Group you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.