Have Oceaneering International Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We'd be surprised if Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE:OII) shareholders haven't noticed that the President, Roderick Larson, recently sold US$265k worth of stock at US$44.16 per share. On the bright side, that sale was only 1.3% of their holding, so we doubt it's very meaningful, on its own.

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Oceaneering International Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Senior Vice President of Subsea Robotics, Martin McDonald, for US$2.7m worth of shares, at about US$38.49 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$34.24). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last year Oceaneering International insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

View our latest analysis for Oceaneering International

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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. Oceaneering International insiders own about US$52m worth of shares. That equates to 1.5% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Oceaneering International Insiders?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But it is good to see that Oceaneering International is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Oceaneering International.

But note: Oceaneering International 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.

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