Possible Bearish Signals With AECOM Insiders Disposing Stock

Many AECOM (NYSE:ACM) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. 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 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 AECOM

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At AECOM

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Independent Chairman of the Board, Douglas Stotlar, for US$671k worth of shares, at about US$93.51 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$108, 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 18% of Douglas Stotlar's holding.

In the last year AECOM insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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 are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that AECOM insiders own 0.4% of the company, worth about US$61m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At AECOM Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no AECOM insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. Still, the insider transactions at AECOM in the last 12 months are not very heartening. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for AECOM.

Of course AECOM 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.

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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.