March 10 (Reuters) - U.S. corporate insiders sold far

more shares in their companies than they bought in February,

marking the largest gap since July 2024 and underscoring

executives' reluctance to purchase stock during a volatile month

for markets.

The pessimism among U.S. executives, who have the clearest

view of their own businesses, emerged during growing fears of AI

disruption in February and does not yet reflect the added shock

from the Iran war.

While insider transactions are often shaped by personal

financial planning rather than a direct view on markets,

analysts flagged that it might still serve as a sign of

corporate caution.

* The seller-to-buyer ratio for U.S. public companies jumped

to 4.2 in February, its highest level in 20 months, data from

The Washington Service showed.

* There were 2,260 recorded instances of insiders selling,

while only 543 recorded instances of insiders buying, the

analytics firm said.

* February's total of individual sellers marks the highest

figure since August, with around $6.6 billion worth of shares

sold

* Including only S&P 500 companies, there were 833

instances of executives selling shares last month, totaling more

than $4.9 billion, while only 74 executives bought, totaling

more than $271 million.

* The benchmark S&P 500 clocked its biggest monthly decline

since March 2025 last month as growing anxiety over AI

disruptions, tariff concerns and geopolitical worries hit

sentiment

* "Insiders are just like the rest of the investment

community where they tend to react emotionally when there's a

great deal of uncertainty," said Art Hogan, chief market

strategist at B Riley Wealth.