Insiders At Alcoa Sold US$12m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness \

Many Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. 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, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

See our latest analysis for Alcoa

Alcoa Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive VP & COO, William Oplinger, for US$6.6m worth of shares, at about US$53.04 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$32.80. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last year Alcoa insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Does Alcoa Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Alcoa insiders own about US$42m worth of shares. That equates to 0.7% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Alcoa Insiders?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Alcoa shares in the last quarter. Our analysis of Alcoa insider transactions leaves us cautious. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Alcoa.

Of course Alcoa may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

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, but not derivative transactions.

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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.