Have Prudential Financial Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We wouldn't blame Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Charles Lowrey, the Executive Chairman recently netted about US$5.2m selling shares at an average price of US$107. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 23%, which is notable but not too bad.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Prudential Financial

In fact, the recent sale by Charles Lowrey was the biggest sale of Prudential Financial 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$108, 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 23% of Charles Lowrey's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$36k for 310.75 shares. On the other hand they divested 61.11k shares, for US$6.6m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Prudential Financial 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. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

View our latest analysis for Prudential Financial

I will like Prudential Financial better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of Prudential Financial

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with 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. It appears that Prudential Financial insiders own 0.2% of the company, worth about US$81m. 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 Prudential Financial Tell Us?

Insiders haven't bought Prudential Financial stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.