Some Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that insider David Payne recently sold a substantial US$705k worth of stock at a price of US$128 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 10% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

View our latest analysis for Blackstone

Blackstone Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chief Legal Officer, John Finley, sold US$4.0m worth of shares at a price of US$100 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$133. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. It is worth noting that this sale was only 30% of John Finley's holding.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 3.17k shares for US$330k. But they sold 89.27k shares for US$9.0m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Blackstone 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!

I will like Blackstone better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of Blackstone

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Blackstone insiders own 0.2% of the company, currently worth about US$238m based on the recent share price. 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 Blackstone Insider Transactions Indicate?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of Blackstone stock, than buying, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Blackstone.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.

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.