Some The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Lead Independent Director, David Viniar, recently sold a substantial US$2.2m worth of stock at a price of US$432 per share. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 0.6%.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Goldman Sachs Group

The Chief Financial Officer, Denis Coleman, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$5.0m worth of shares at a price of US$394 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$444. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 27% of Denis Coleman's holding.

Insiders in Goldman Sachs Group 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 click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Does Goldman Sachs Group Boast High Insider Ownership?

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Goldman Sachs Group insiders own 0.5% of the company, currently worth about US$732m based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Goldman Sachs Group Tell Us?

Insiders haven't bought Goldman Sachs Group stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. 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 Goldman Sachs Group. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Goldman Sachs Group that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

But note: Goldman Sachs Group 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.