Notable American Express Insider Makes $2.14 Million Sale

Marc Gordon, Chief Information Officer at American Express AXP, made a large insider sell on September 10, according to a new SEC filing.

What Happened: A Form 4 filing from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday showed that Gordon sold 13,424 shares of American Express at a price of $159.24 per share. The total transaction amounted to $2,137,638.

Following the transaction, Gordon still owns 17,600 shares of American Express worth $2,810,720.

American Express shares are trading down 1.08% at $159.7 at the time of this writing on Tuesday afternoon.

Why Insider Transactions Are Important

Insider transactions shouldn't be used primarily to make an investing decision, however an insider transaction can be an important factor in the investing decision.

In legal terms, an "insider" refers to any shareholder who owns at least 10% of a company. This can include executives in the c-suite and large hedge funds. These insiders are required to let the public know of their transactions via a Form 4 filing, which must be filed within two business days of the transaction.

When a company insider makes a new purchase, that is an indication that they expect the stock to rise.

Insider sells, on the other hand, can be made for a variety of reasons, and may not necessarily mean that the seller thinks the stock will go down.

Transaction Codes To Focus On

Investors prefer focusing on transactions that take place in the open market, indicated in Table I of the Form 4 filing. A P in Box 3 indicates a purchase, while S indicates a sale. Transaction code C indicates the conversion of an option, and transaction code A indicates the insider may have been forced to sell shares in order to receive compensation that had been promised upon being hired by the company.

Check Out The Full List Of American Express's Insider Trades.