Duke Energy Executive VP & Chief Legal Officer Alexander Glenn Sells 33% Of Holding

Some Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Executive VP & Chief Legal Officer, Alexander Glenn, recently sold a substantial US$1.0m worth of stock at a price of US$124 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 33% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Duke Energy

The insider, Julia Janson, 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$116 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$123, 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 16% of Julia Janson's holding.

In the last year Duke Energy insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!

View our latest analysis for Duke Energy

I will like Duke Energy 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 Duke Energy

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Duke Energy insiders own about US$155m worth of shares (which is 0.2% 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.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Duke Energy Tell Us?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But since Duke Energy is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Duke Energy. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (1 is concerning!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Duke Energy.

But note: Duke Energy 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.