what is sec form 4 statement of changes in beneficial ownership 
sec form 4 statement of changes in beneficial ownership is a document that must be filed with the securities and exchange commission sec whenever there is a material change in the holdings of company insiders insiders consist of directors and officers of the company as well as any shareholders owning 10 or more of the company s outstanding stock the forms ask about the reporting person s relationship to the company and about purchases and sales of such equity shares the filing of form 4 relates to sections 16 a and 23 a of the securities exchange act of 1934 as well as sections 30 h and 38 of the investment company act of 1940 disclosure of information required on form 4 is mandatory and becomes public record upon filing 1understanding sec form 4 statement of changes in beneficial ownershipthere are multiple sec forms that are associated with the ownership of stocks or securities for publicly traded companies sec form 4 is one of three forms that is usually required by the sec 2individuals file form 3 when they first acquire a stock and are registering the securities for the first time the form must be filed within 10 days of the individual becoming an officer director or beneficial owner at the company 3form 4 is required to be filed by a company or the individual at the company when there is a change in the holdings of company insiders form 4 must be filed with the sec within two days of the transaction form 4 is a two page document which covers any buy and sell orders as well as the exercise of company stock options 4options are contracts that give the holder the right but not the obligation to buy or sell a stock at a certain price and by a specific date options are often awarded to executives and directors of companies as part of the employee incentive plan typically the options can be cashed out or redeemed after a predetermined holding period has expired form 5 is filed if a person conducted a trade of the company s stock but failed to report it via form 4 form 5 allows the individual 45 days following the close of the company s fiscal year 5the sec is able to use the information in sec form 4 when referring a case to other governmental authorities and self regulatory organizations sros if a party fails to disclose the required information on form 4 civil or criminal actions could result 1forms related to sec form 4several other forms are critical to maintaining transparency and recording the actions of public company executives officers and directors these include the company s annual financial report which is filed via a 10 k and the quarterly financial report filed via a 10 q if a company is issuing stock for the first time they must file form s 1 and if any amendments must be made they file form s 1a the 8 k is filed when there are unscheduled material events or corporate changes 6 schedule 13d informs the sec when an entity acquires more than 5 of the stock of a public company the sec has the capacity to use information disclosed on form 4 in investigations or litigation involving federal securities laws in addition to other civil criminal or regulatory statutes or provisions 