Insiders of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) would have made a tidy sum after selling US$20m worth of stock at a high price

Even though Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) stock gained 11% last week, insiders who sold US$20m worth of stock over the past year are probably better off. Selling at an average price of US$131, which is higher than the current price, may have been the best move for these insiders because their investment would have been worth less now than when they sold.

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

See 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 Global Head of Private Equity & Director, Joseph Baratta, sold US$5.1m worth of shares at a price of US$135 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$93.45). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 22.71k shares for US$2.5m. But insiders sold 155.02k shares worth US$20m. In total, Blackstone insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. 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).

Insiders At Blackstone Have Bought Stock Recently

There was some insider buying at Blackstone over the last quarter. insider Ruth Porat bought US$20k worth of shares in that time. However, insider Ruth Porat netted US$59.8 for sales. It is good to see that insiders have been buying, but they did not buy very many shares, in the scheme of things.

Does Blackstone Boast High Insider Ownership?

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. Blackstone insiders own about US$159m worth of shares (which is 0.1% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Blackstone Tell Us?

We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). The net investment is not enough to encourage us much. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we'd need to see more buying to gain confidence from the Blackstone insider transactions. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Blackstone you should be aware of.

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, 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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