AbbVie Insiders Sold US$8.4m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy \

In the last year, many AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. 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, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for AbbVie

AbbVie Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive VP & Chief Commercial Officer, Jeffrey Stewart, sold US$4.8m worth of shares at a price of US$152 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$137. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

Insiders in AbbVie didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

AbbVie Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at AbbVie. In total, insiders dumped US$6.0m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

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. AbbVie insiders own 0.1% of the company, currently worth about US$260m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About AbbVie Insiders?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Case in point: We've spotted 5 warning signs for AbbVie you should be aware of.

But note: AbbVie 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, but not derivative transactions.

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