We wouldn't blame Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Gerard Smyth, the Executive VP & Head of Technology and Service Delivery recently netted about US$2.6m selling shares at an average price of US$473. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 47%, which is notable but not too bad.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Ameriprise Financial

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Chairman & CEO, James Cracchiolo, for US$27m worth of shares, at about US$549 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$464. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Insiders in Ameriprise Financial didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Insider Ownership Of Ameriprise Financial

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Ameriprise Financial insiders own 0.2% of the company, worth about US$77m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Ameriprise Financial Tell Us?

Insiders haven't bought Ameriprise Financial 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. But since Ameriprise Financial is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company.

Of course Ameriprise Financial may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

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.