Some American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that insider Monique Herena recently sold a substantial US$3.0m worth of stock at a price of US$337 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 41% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

American Express Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive VP & CIO, Ravikumar Radhakrishnan, for US$5.3m worth of shares, at about US$357 per share. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$336. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

Insiders in American Express didn't buy any shares in the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

I will like American Express better if I see some big insider buys.

Does American Express 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. American Express insiders own 0.1% of the company, currently worth about US$261m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The American Express Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But it is good to see that American Express is growing earnings. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company.

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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.

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.