Senior Executive VP & Global Head of Wealth Management Of Bank of New York Mellon Sold 77% Of Their Shares

We wouldn't blame The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE:BK) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Catherine Keating, the Senior Executive VP & Global Head of Wealth Management recently netted about US$3.0m selling shares at an average price of US$54.88. Probably the most concerning element of the whole transaction is that the disposal amounted to 77% of their entire holding.

View our latest analysis for Bank of New York Mellon

Bank of New York Mellon Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Catherine Keating was the biggest sale of Bank of New York Mellon shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$57.18, 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was 77% of Catherine Keating's holding.

In the last year Bank of New York Mellon 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. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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

Does Bank of New York Mellon Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Bank of New York Mellon insiders own 0.2% of the company, worth about US$88m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Bank of New York Mellon Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought Bank of New York Mellon stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. On the plus side, Bank of New York Mellon makes money, and is growing profits. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We'd practice some caution before buying! 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. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Bank of New York Mellon.

But note: Bank of New York Mellon 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.