Have Ameriprise Financial Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We wouldn't blame Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Gumer Alvero, a company insider, recently netted about US$1.2m selling shares at an average price of US$516. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 29%, which is notable but not too bad.

View our latest analysis for Ameriprise Financial

Ameriprise Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chairman & CEO, James Cracchiolo, sold US$8.9m worth of shares at a price of US$409 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$514). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. 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. It is worth noting that this sale was only 12% of James Cracchiolo's holding.

In the last year Ameriprise Financial insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 0.2% of Ameriprise Financial shares, worth about US$87m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Ameriprise Financial Tell Us?

Insiders sold Ameriprise Financial shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But since Ameriprise Financial is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. For example - Ameriprise Financial has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

But note: Ameriprise Financial 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.