Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM)

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Have Insiders Been Selling Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) Shares This Year?
By: Simply Wall St | May 31, 2019

We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM).

What Is Insider Selling?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.'

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Exxon Mobil

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the , Bradley Corson, sold US$1.3m worth of shares at a price of US$84.02 per share. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$71.97. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

In the last twelve months insiders netted US$7.0m for 89278 shares sold. Exxon Mobil insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Insiders at Exxon Mobil Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Exxon Mobil. Specifically, Bryan Milton ditched US$461k 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 of Exxon Mobil

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It's great to see that Exxon Mobil insiders own 0.2% of the company, worth about US$489m. 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 Do The Exxon Mobil Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought Exxon Mobil 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. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Exxon Mobil, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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