We wouldn't blame Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Frederic de Wilde, the President of South & Southeast Asia recently netted about US$2.3m selling shares at an average price of US$113. That sale reduced their total holding by 14% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Philip Morris International

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Non-Executive Chairman, Andre Calantzopoulos, sold US$8.6m worth of shares at a price of US$90.23 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$115, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. This single sale was just 8.6% of Andre Calantzopoulos's stake.

Insiders in Philip Morris International didn't buy any shares in 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!

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Does Philip Morris International 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. It's great to see that Philip Morris International insiders own 0.2% of the company, worth about US$281m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Philip Morris International Insiders?

An insider sold Philip Morris International shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But since Philip Morris International 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 while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Philip Morris International you should know about.

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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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com