Chief Legal Officer Of Blackstone Sold 29% Of Their Shares

Some Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chief Legal Officer, John Finley, recently sold a substantial US$7.4m worth of stock at a price of US$176 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 29% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Blackstone

In fact, the recent sale by John Finley was the biggest sale of Blackstone shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$177, 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. It is worth noting that this sale was only 29% of John Finley's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$444k for 3.46k shares. But they sold 145.74k shares for US$21m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Blackstone than they bought, over the last year. 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!

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Does Blackstone Boast High 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. Blackstone insiders own about US$521m worth of shares (which is 0.2% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Blackstone Tell Us?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of Blackstone stock, than buying, in the last three months. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. But it is good to see that Blackstone is growing earnings. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. While it's good to be aware of 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. When we did our research, we found 2 warning signs for Blackstone (1 is significant!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

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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.