Some Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chief Human Resources Officer, Paulo Pisano, recently sold a substantial US$1.5m worth of stock at a price of US$5,142 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 15% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.
In fact, the recent sale by Chief Human Resources Officer Paulo Pisano was not their only sale of Booking Holdings shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched US$4,930 per share in a -US$4.2m sale. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$5,165. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was only 30% of Paulo Pisano's holding.
Booking Holdings insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
See our latest analysis for Booking Holdings
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Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Booking Holdings insiders own 0.2% of the company, currently worth about US$313m 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.
An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. On the plus side, Booking Holdings makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Booking Holdings. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Booking Holdings that deserve your attention before buying any shares.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.
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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.