Notable Insider Buys In The Past Week: General Electric, Symantec And More

Insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors.
Insider purchasing was seen at companies favored by Carl Icahn and George Soros last week.
The CEO of an industrial giant put his money where his mouth is as well.

Conventional wisdom says that insiders and 10% owners really only buy shares of a company for one reason -- they believe the stock price will rise and they want to profit from it. So insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors, particularly during periods of uncertainty.

Here are a few significant insider purchases reported in the past week:

Symantec

A Symantec Corporation SYMC director indirectly purchased more than 5.32 million shares of this cybersecurity provider last week. At $22.18 to $22.95 a share, the transactions totaled more than $120.83 million. The stake was last reported to be up to more than 19.86 million shares.

George Soros was also shown to have increased his stake in Symantec. The shares were last seen trading at $23.85 apiece, above the purchase price range mentioned above. They have traded as high as $26.07 in the past 52 weeks, but the consensus price target is just $22.93.

General Electric

Last week, General Electric Company GE CEO Larry Culp Jr. and four other insiders acquired more than 789,500 shares altogether of this industrial giant. At prices ranging from $7.73 to $9.43 per share, those transactions totaled more than $6.85 million. Culp's stake is up to nearly 1.17 million shares.

GE shares pulled back sharply last week following accusations of accounting irregularities. The shares have recovered somewhat and were last seen at $8.67. The consensus target is $10.82, though the stock has traded as high as $13.25 in the past 52 weeks.

Conduent

Conduent Inc CNDT saw activist investor Carl Icahn, a 10% owner, step up to the buy window again. At $6.43 to $6.59 apiece, the more than 6.51 million shares acquired indirectly totaled over $42.39 million. That brought Icahn's stake to nearly 38.15 million shares.

This Xerox spin-off recently suspended its CEO search and began a strategic review of the company. The stock is up about 10% in the past week, closing most recently at $7.08, which is above Icahn's purchase price range. The analysts' consensus price target was last seen at $9.00.

Red Rock Resorts

Red Rock Resorts Inc RRR had two directors return for a few more indirect share purchases this past week. At $17.92 to $19.05 apiece, the 467,000 shares acquired most recently totaled more than $8.59 million. These two directors, 10% owners, picked up 15.20 million shares in the previous week as well.

This casino operator posted disappointing earnings results early in the month. Shares ended Monday at $19.27, above the director's latest purchase price range, after climbing more than 3% in the past week. The consensus price target is just $25.50, but shares have traded as high as $33.51 in the past 52 weeks.

Note that some AES Corp AES, Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. CFR and Sarepta Therapeutics Inc SRPT insiders were buying recently as well.