"Insiders dumped $8.4 billion of their shares in May and $9.2 billion in June, according to an analysis of regulatory filings by TrimTabs Investment Research. That's the biggest two-month period of insider selling in a year."
"It's not over," Santschi said, "but the party is coming to an end."
CEOs are dumping stock in their companies. Here's what that means
"Large US companies have become cash machines for the top insiders who run them," said David Santschi, director of liquidity research at TrimTabs.
In fact, insider selling accelerates immediately after buybacks are unveiled, according to a recent SEC analysis. The study found that in 2017 and early 2018, the percentage of insiders selling stock more than doubled immediately after buyback announcements.
"Right after the company tells the market that the stock is cheap, executives overwhelmingly decide it's time to sell," SEC Commissioner Robert Jackson Jr. said in a June speech.
Despite authorizing massive buybacks, insiders aren't buying much themselves.
"It's not over," Santschi said, "but the party is coming to an end."