Notable Insider Buys Last Week: Newell Brands, PNC Financial And More

Insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors.

Some insiders took advantage of volatility to purchase shares.

Some of these buys come in the wake of earnings reports.

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. So insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors, particularly during periods of uncertainty.

Here are a few of significant insider purchases reported last week as volatility ruled the markets.

American Homes 4 Rent

Two American Homes 4 Rent AMH directors took advantage of recent volatility in the shares. They picked up more than 2.15 million shares of this real estate investment trust altogether last week at $27.49 to $29 per share via trust. The purchase totaled more than $60.91 million. The chief financial officer sold 30,000 shares last week as well.

This single-family home rental leader beat earnings estimates, declared a distribution and announced board changes recently. The stock was trading at $28.94 a share on last look, within the above purchase price range. The stock has traded as high as $29.89 in the past year, and the consensus analyst price target is $29.

Newell Brands

A director and an executive at Newell Brands Inc NWL purchased about 323,400 shares of this consumer and commercial products maker via trust last week. At $15.01 to $16.60 per share, the purchase totaled more than $5.16 million. The director is the son of billionaire investor Carl Icahn, and his stake is nearly 729,000 shares.

The Atlanta-based company posted an earnings beat last month, but coronavirus fears have weighed on the shares. Newell Brands stock retreated almost 10% last week to $13.98 a share. It has traded as high as $20.99 in the past year, and the consensus target price now suggests 48% or so upside from the most recent close.

PNC Financial Services

A PNC Financial Services Group Inc PNC director has stepped up to the buy window. That director picked more than 24,100 shares of this financial services company at $123.49 to $123.54 each. Those transactions totaled more than $2.98 million. Note that two-thirds of those purchases were via trust. Also, an executive sold 15,900 shares last week.

This was one of those stocks trading at new 52-week lows in the past week. PNC Financial Services stock closed Friday at $114.23 a share, below the director's purchase price range, and down over 7% in the past week. The shares have traded as high as $161.79 in the past year, and the consensus price target is $160.68.

See also: Threatened To Be Ousted As Twitter CEO, Dorsey Counts Achievements, Defends Africa Move

In addition, note that the previous week's insider buying at Kinder Morgan Inc KMI, Six Flags Entertainment SIX and Trinity Industries Inc TRN continued last week.

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.