Google Inc. (NDAQ:GOOG) insiders continue to sell stock at an astonishing rate (according to their Form 4 filings with the SEC), having unloaded nearly $1.7 billion during the past six months alone. Topping the list are Lawrence Page with $312,482,000 in sales along with Eric Schmidt with $290,538,000 in sales, both during just the past six months. There is a debate on Wall Street as to whether or not this kind of selling can be justified as "diversification" or whether it constitutes a negative sentiment on the company - after all, if insiders were confident in their company's future, why would they be selling? Warren Buffet has 99% of his net worth tied into Berkshire, while Bill Gates has the vast majority of his money tied up in Microsoft... why should Google be any different?

The fact is that even after over two years of being public, Google still tops the insider selling list on Wall Street, without a single purchase during recent months. Many maintain that the insiders are merely diversifying their holdings by selling Google stock and buying other companies. In reality, this type of diversification is typically of companies that have recently gone public; however, the selling usually subsides after the first year or so. If we look at Microsoft, Cisco, and other large companies, we can certainly see some spending; however, these companies pale in comparison to Google. Microsoft has only experienced sales of $500,000,000 during the past six months, while Cisco recorded under $100,000,000. While many experts cannot agree what the insider selling means, it would be difficult to argue that they are not significant.