Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) insiders who sold US$4.6m worth of stock earlier this year are probably glad they did so as market cap slides to US$83b

Insiders at Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) sold US$4.6m worth of stock at an average price of US$70.28 a share over the past year, making the most of their investment. After the stock price dropped 11% last week, the company's market value declined by US$10b, but insiders were able to mitigate their losses.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Citigroup

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Citigroup

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Chief Executive Officer of Latin America, Ernesto Torres Cantú, for US$2.0m worth of shares, at about US$72.50 per share. 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$42.99. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Insiders in Citigroup didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Citigroup

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Citigroup insiders own 0.2% of the company, currently worth about US$125m 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 Does This Data Suggest About Citigroup Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. It's heartening that insiders own plenty of stock, but we'd like to see more insider buying, since the last year of Citigroup insider transactions don't fill us with confidence. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Citigroup.

But note: Citigroup 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, but not derivative transactions.

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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.

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