Some The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE:BK) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Senior Executive VP & Global Head of Wealth Management, Catherine Keating, recently sold a substantial US$3.0m worth of stock at a price of US$54.88 per share. Probably the most concerning element of the whole transaction is that the disposal amounted to 77% of their entire holding.

Bank of New York Mellon Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Catherine Keating was the biggest sale of Bank of New York Mellon shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$57.44, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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. We note that the biggest single sale was 77% of Catherine Keating's holding.

Insiders in Bank of New York Mellon didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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

Does Bank of New York Mellon Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Bank of New York Mellon insiders own 0.2% of the company, worth about US$94m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Bank of New York Mellon Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought Bank of New York Mellon 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. On the plus side, Bank of New York Mellon makes money, and is growing profits. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Bank of New York Mellon. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Bank of New York Mellon and we suggest you have a look.

But note: Bank of New York Mellon may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.