Insiders At ConocoPhillips Sold US$9.4m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

Over the past year, many ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Director & Advisor, Timothy Leach, 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$115 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$122, 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. 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. It is worth noting that this sale was only 7.1% of Timothy Leach's holding.

Insiders in ConocoPhillips didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Insiders At ConocoPhillips Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at ConocoPhillips. In total, insiders dumped US$4.1m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Insider Ownership Of ConocoPhillips

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. ConocoPhillips insiders own 0.09% of the company, currently worth about US$122m based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The ConocoPhillips Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought ConocoPhillips stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. While we like knowing 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. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for ConocoPhillips that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

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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.