Coach, Dell And Others Insiders Have Been Buying (COH, DELL, FCX, SYMC)

Insiders may sell shares for any number of reasons, but conventional wisdom says that insiders really only buy shares of a company for one reason -- they believe the stock price will rise and they want to profit from it. Pullbacks and sell-offs provide a perfect opportunity for investors who have faith in a company to snap up shares. Here are some stocks that have seen insider buying recently. Coach The outgoing CEO bought more than 21,000 shares this week. That was worth around $1.0 million. Luxury goods company Coach COH reported mixed quarterly results recently and has been a rumored takeover target. The market capitalization is more than $14 billion and it has a dividend yield of about 2.7 percent. The return on equity is more than 47 percent. Shares of this New York-based company have retreated about seven percent in the past month. The stock has underperformed the broader markets over the past six months. Dell Founder Michael Dell recently purchased almost 3 million Dell DELL shares for a total price of more than $41.1 million and then immediately sold them for the same price. This was likely a move for tax considerations ahead of the company being taken private. This Round Rock, Texas-based PC maker has a market cap of more than $24 billion and a dividend yield near 2.3 percent. The share price has been essentially flat since early August, near $13.80. Over the past six months, the stock has underperformed peer Hewlett-Packard HPQ. See also: New Data Show Tablets and E-Readers Exploding in Popularity Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold The vice chairman of the board bought a cumulative 1.5 million shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold FCX, which was worth more than $56 million. This was after the recent strong third-quarter report that lifted shares to year-to-date highs. The Phoenix, Arizona-based precious metals miner has a market cap near $39 billion and a dividend yield of about 3.3 percent. The long-term EPS growth forecast is around 11 percent. Shares are up about 14 percent in the past month. The stock has underperformed competitor Newmont Mining NEM and the S&P 500 over the past six months. Helix Energy Solutions The president and chief executive officer of Helix Energy Solutions HLX picked himself up 50,000 shares of the company's stock last week for more than $1.1 million. The sale followed the report of a year-over-year jump in net income for the third quarter. This offshore energy company has a market cap of more than $2 billion but does not offer a dividend. The long-term EPS growth forecast is around 12 percent. The share price has pulled back more than four percent in the past month, and the stock has underperformed the broader markets over the past six months. SunTrust Banks One director grabbed 20,000 SunTrust Banks STI shares last week, at a price of about $666,000. Mortgage settlement costs dragged down the third-quarter results from this Atlanta-based company; it fell short of expectations on both the top and bottom lines. The market cap of this bank holding company is more than $18 billion. The dividend yield is about 1.2 percent. Shares have risen about five percent in the past month. Over the past six months, the stock has outperformed larger competitors Bank of America BAC and Wells Fargo WFC. Symantec The president and CEO just scooped up 100,000 Symantec SYMC shares. The price of that purchase was more than $2.2 million. Shares slumped after last week's earnings report from this S&P 500 component, in part due to the disappointing revenue guidance. This Mountain View, California-based digital security solutions company has a market cap of more than $15 billion, and its dividend yield is near 2.7 percent. The share price more than 10 percent lower than it was a month ago. Over the past six months, the stock has underperformed the broader markets. See also: Four Stocks Far Below Their 50-Day Moving Average At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.