Delta Air Lines Executive VP Alain Bellemare Sells 26% Of Holding

Some Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Executive VP, Alain Bellemare, recently sold a substantial US$2.5m worth of stock at a price of US$55.56 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 26%, which is notable but not too bad.

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Delta Air Lines Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the President, Glen Hauenstein, sold US$4.4m worth of shares at a price of US$58.30 per share. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$55.71. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 15.00k shares for US$601k. On the other hand they divested 393.70k shares, for US$23m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Delta Air Lines shares, than buying. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

See our latest analysis for Delta Air Lines

I will like Delta Air Lines 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

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Delta Air Lines insiders own about US$152m worth of shares (which is 0.4% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Delta Air Lines Insiders?

An insider sold Delta Air Lines shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. 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. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Delta Air Lines.

But note: Delta Air Lines 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.