Notable Insider Buys This Past Week: Coty, Symantec and More

• Insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors.
• Some the week's notable insider buying followed earnings reports.
• In some of the following cases, multiple insiders were picking up shares.

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's a look at a few notable insider purchases reported in the past week, but also note that frequent purchasers Richard Kinder, executive board chair at Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI), and Opko Health Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK) CEO Phillip Frost continued their buying streaks as well.

Hain Celestial

Hain Celestial Group Inc (NASDAQ:HAIN) had a director make a few more notable indirect share purchases this past week. At $23.08 to $24.47 apiece, the more than 2.08 million shares acquired totaled nearly $49.19 million. The stake was listed as over 2.21 million shares, which compares with more than 104 million shares outstanding.

This maker of organic and natural products recently posted better than expected quarterly results and announced the sale of its interest in Hain Pure Protein for $80 million. Shares ended Friday at $23.95, still within the director's purchase price range, after rising more than 6% but giving up most of that gain in the past week. The consensus price target is down at $21.90, but shares have traded as high as $31.53 in the past 52 weeks.

AES

AES Corp (NYSE:AES) saw a director last week indirectly acquire 100,000 shares of this Virginia-based utility company at an average $15.96 apiece. Along with the 2.48 million shares he purchased in the previous week, the transactions totaled more than $41.58 million. Note that the company's president recent exercised an option on 65,000 shares as well.

The power plant owner and operator posted disappointing earnings results earlier this month. The stock has pulled back about 5 percent since the beginning of the month, while the S&P 500 is less than 3 percent lower. The shares closed most recently at $16.34, so the latest purchase seems to be well-timed. Note that shares have traded as high as $18.52 in the past 52 weeks, and the analysts' consensus price target is $18.00.

See Also: Overstock CEO Releases Bizarre Statement To Explain Massive Stock Sale

Symantec

One Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) director stepped up to the buy window as well. This past week's 2.00 million shares reportedly acquired cost that director more than $39.17 million. Share prices ranged from $19.49 to $19.74. Note that some shares were indirectly purchased and some were granted restricted stock units. The latest stake was listed as almost 18.96 million shares.

This cybersecurity company posted mixed quarterly results this month, and it announced the sudden departure of CEO Greg Clark. Shares were trading at $19.84 a share on last look, after ending the week more than 5 percent higher. The stock has changed hands as high as $24.77 a share in the past year. The analysts polled have a consensus price target of $21.02.

Coty

Early last week, the Coty Inc (NYSE:COTY) chief operating officer and two other insiders purchased 1.81 million shares altogether of this beauty products company. At prices ranging from $11.32 to $13.27 per share, that cost them nearly $21.40 million. Insiders, including CEO Pierre Laubies, also scooped up over $54.65 million worth of shares in the previous week.

The New York-based company also posted mixed quarterly results recently, citing supply chain problems. The stock ended the past week at $13.50 per share, above the wide purchase price noted above, after jumping about 15 percent in the past week. While the consensus target was last seen at just $11.99, the stock has traded as high as $14.87 in the past 52 weeks.