The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) insiders who sold US$3.9m worth of stock earlier this year are probably glad they did so as market cap slides to US$63b

Insiders seem to have made the most of their holdings by selling US$3.9m worth of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) stock at an average sell price of US$184 during the past year. The company's market valuation decreased by US$5.3b after the stock price dropped 7.8% over the past week, but insiders were spared from painful losses.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for PNC Financial Services Group

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At PNC Financial Services Group

The Executive VP and Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking, Michael Lyons, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.0m worth of shares at a price of US$183 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$155. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In total, PNC Financial Services Group insiders sold more than they bought over 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!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

PNC Financial Services Group Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at PNC Financial Services Group. In total, Executive VP Deborah Guild sold US$452k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

Insider Ownership Of PNC Financial Services Group

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. PNC Financial Services Group insiders own about US$213m worth of shares (which is 0.3% of the company). 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 PNC Financial Services Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought PNC Financial Services Group stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. But since PNC Financial Services Group is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for PNC Financial Services Group that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

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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