We'd be surprised if Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) shareholders haven't noticed that the Executive VP & President of Sending Technology Solutions, Todd Everett, recently sold US$452k worth of stock at US$18.07 per share. That sale was 21% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

Pitney Bowes Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Todd Everett is the biggest insider sale of Pitney Bowes shares that we've seen in the last year. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$17.42. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 25.50k shares worth US$267k. But insiders sold 25.00k shares worth US$452k. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Does Pitney Bowes Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Pitney Bowes insiders own 1.8% of the company, worth about US$44m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Pitney Bowes Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. On the plus side, Pitney Bowes makes money, and is growing profits. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing.

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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.