Insider Buys Of The Week: CenturyLink, IFF, Tiffany And More

• Insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors.
• A couple of Singapore-based beneficial owners made notable insider buys this past week.
• Some insiders made return trips to the buy window as well.

Conventional wisdom says that insiders and 10-percent 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 some notable insider purchases reported in the past week.

Centurylink Inc CTL saw beneficial owner Temasek Holdings make a couple of large purchases. At prices that ranged from $16.42 to $16.93, the total of 7.61 shares of this communications services provider acquired last week totaled less than $127.37 million. Temasek has been characterized as a national wealth fund owned by the government of Singapore.

CenturyLink recently announced the retirement of its chief executive officer. Its shares ended the past week more than 5 percent higher, closing most recently at $17.21, so the timing of the buys looks fortunate. Note that shares have traded as high as $26.61 in the past year, and the consensus price target is $19.74.

At International Flavors & Fragrances Inc IFF, beneficial owner Winder Investment added to its stake. At prices that ranged from $133.22 to $135, the total of more than 80,000 shares reportedly acquired in the past week cost the Singapore-based holding company more than $10.78 million. The stake was last listed as more than 10.65 million shares.

The most recent IFF quarterly results were better than expected, and last month the board declared a dividend. The stock ended the past week more than 1 percent higher, closing most recently at $135.33 apiece. The 52-week low of $128.42 was seen last May, while the 52-week high of $157.40 was reached early this year. The consensus price target is $150.32.

See also: Helios And Matheson CEO Projects 6 Million MoviePass Subscribers In 2018, Says 12% Are 'Overusers'

A director of DDR Corp DDR has been buying shares of this shopping center focused real estate investment trust for the past several weeks, including this past week's more than 711,000 shares. At prices that ranged from $7.25 to $7.34 apiece, that cost him more than $5.2 million. Note that the latest purchases brought his stake to more than 52.86 million shares out of about 366 million shares outstanding.

As with its REIT peers, the collapse of Toys R Us has been a concern for DDR investors. Its shares rose more than 2 percent in the past week and traded most recently at $7.48, a little above the director's purchase price range. The S&P 500 was up less than 2 percent last week. Note that the shares have changed hands as high as $13 apiece in the past year.

Tiffany & Co. TIF saw a director scoop up 35,000 shares of this luxury retailer last week. At prices ranging from $93.75 to $98.42 a share, those transactions totaled more than $3.31 million. Note that the purchases included unvested restricted stock units, and also that the board chair bought 10,000 shares the previous week.

This New-York-based company hosted an analyst meeting last week that resulted in one upgrade. Shares closed this past week's trading at $95.58 apiece, which is in the purchase price range. The stock is down around 10 percent year to date. Note that shares traded at more than $111 earlier this year.

And at Opko Health Inc. OPK, the chairman and CEO continues his habit of frequently buying batches of shares. Most recently that was 163,000 shares of this medical test and medication company. At share prices that ranged from $2.93 to $3.25, that totaled almost $491,000. The stake is now listed as about 2.69 million shares and the total float as about 330 million.

The Miami-based diagnostics and pharmaceuticals company operates in the United States, Ireland, Chile, Spain, Israel and Mexico. Its shares ended the past week essentially flat, closing on Friday at $3.07 apiece. The stock has traded as high as $7.90 a share in the past 52 weeks, but the consensus analyst target is $11.90.

See also: Tiffany Management Convinces Analysts It's Getting Polished

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

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