Insiders At Exxon Mobil Sold US$2.2m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

Over the past year, many Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Exxon Mobil

Exxon Mobil Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The VP, Principal Accounting Officer & Controller, Leonard Fox, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.2m worth of shares at a price of US$103 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$121, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was only 4.9% of Leonard Fox's holding.

In the last year Exxon Mobil insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Insiders At Exxon Mobil Have Sold Stock Recently

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Exxon Mobil. Specifically, insider Darrin Talley ditched US$524k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Does Exxon Mobil Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Exxon Mobil insiders own about US$306m worth of shares (which is 0.06% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The Exxon Mobil Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Exxon Mobil shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Exxon Mobil. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Exxon Mobil and we suggest you have a look.

But note: Exxon Mobil 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.