Some Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Executive Vice President of Core Services & Equipment, Abdellah Merad, recently sold a substantial US$2.4m worth of stock at a price of US$48.52 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 16%, which is notable but not too bad.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Schlumberger

The insider, Demos Pafitis, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$3.5m worth of shares at a price of US$58.83 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$48.46. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Schlumberger than they bought, 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!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership Of Schlumberger

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Schlumberger insiders own about US$164m worth of shares (which is 0.2% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Schlumberger Tell Us?

Insiders sold Schlumberger shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But since Schlumberger is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Schlumberger. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Schlumberger you should be aware of.

Of course Schlumberger 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.