Yahoo Finance Insiders At Marathon Petroleum Sold US$1.6m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness
In the last year, many Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. 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, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.
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 Marathon Petroleum
Marathon Petroleum Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
The Executive Vice President of Refining, Timothy Aydt, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.4m worth of shares at a price of US$173 each. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$162. 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.
Marathon Petroleum insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. 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!
For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Insider Ownership Of Marathon Petroleum
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that Marathon Petroleum insiders own 0.2% of the company, worth about US$105m. 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 Marathon Petroleum Insider Transactions Indicate?
The fact that there have been no Marathon Petroleum insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. It's heartening that insiders own plenty of stock, but we'd like to see more insider buying, since the last year of Marathon Petroleum insider transactions don't fill us with confidence. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Marathon Petroleum. When we did our research, we found 3 warning signs for Marathon Petroleum (1 is a bit concerning!) that we believe deserve your full attention.
But note: Marathon Petroleum 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.
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