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Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) shareholders might have a reason to worry after multiple insiders sold their shares over the last year. 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, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.
Check out our latest analysis for Comcast
Comcast Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
The Executive VP, Daniel Murdock, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$397k worth of shares at a price of US$44.50 each. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$39.60). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.
In the last year Comcast 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!
If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Insiders At Comcast Have Sold Stock Recently
The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Comcast shares. In total, Independent Director Kenneth Bacon sold US$72k 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.
Does Comcast Boast High 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. It's great to see that Comcast insiders own 0.9% of the company, worth about US$1.5b. 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 Comcast Insiders?
An insider hasn't bought Comcast stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 4 warning signs for Comcast and we suggest you have a look.