SLM Senior VP & Controller Jonathan Boyles Sells 90% Of Holding

Some SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Senior VP & Controller, Jonathan Boyles, recently sold a substantial US$1.9m worth of stock at a price of US$20.72 per share. That diminished their holding by a very significant 90%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.

See our latest analysis for SLM

SLM Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Jonathan Boyles was the biggest sale of SLM shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$20.65. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

In the last year SLM insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like SLM better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 1.1% of SLM shares, worth about US$51m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The SLM Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But it is good to see that SLM is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! While we like knowing 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. For example, SLM has 4 warning signs (and 2 which shouldn't be ignored) we think you should know about.

But note: SLM 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.