Investing

Top Stocks With Insider Buying and Selling This Week

After a week that had almost every possible component for investors, from good earnings to a steep sell-off to numerous geopolitical issues, there was still some sizable insider transactions on both the buy and sell side of things. With the market holding its ground despite a chorus of bubble comments, stocks finished the week on a nice up note.

Here are the top insider sales for the week.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) CEO and Chairman Warren Buffett had a huge share disposition this last week. The sum: nearly $2.8 billion. We covered the specific details about how this took place, including that the disposition was actually for charitable donations to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others. Still, one might wonder with the size whether this is the start of the exodus. Berkshire Hathaway A shares ended the week at $192,487, while the B shares closed Friday at $128.28.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) had big earnings and some big selling this week. CEO Lawrence Page sold 33,332 shares of the company’s stock on the open market in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.29, for a total value of $19,642,214.28. Google insiders are frequent sellers through pre-designated share plans. Google closed Friday at $605.11.

Rex American Resources Corp. (NYSE: REX) saw the CEO and the COO ting the register on some serious share sales. CEO Stuart Rose sold 60,000 shares between $82.28 and $83 for $5 million. COO Zafar Rizvi sold 10,000 shares at $83 for a nice $830,000 total. The stock closed Friday at $84.58 up almost 3%.

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Here are the stocks that saw the top insider buying.

Blue Capital Reinsurance Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: BRCH) made the 24/7 buy screen again this week as 10% holder Montpelier Re Holdings continues to add stock. The company actually made two separate purchases: one of 38,200 shares bought at prices ranging from $19.90 to $19.93 for a total of $800,000, and a second for 34,400 shares between $19.71 and $19.93 for a total of $700,000. The stock landed on $19.70 to end the week.

Nature’s Sunshine Products Inc. (NASDAQ: NATR) also had a 10% owner of the stock come in and do some more purchasing. Wynnefield Partners added an additional 22,173 shares that were priced between $16.07 to $16.28. The purchase totaled $400,000. Nature’s Sunshine closed Friday at $16.19.

Fastenal Co. (NASDAQ: FAST) had a rough week from an earnings standpoint. The stock missed earnings despite solid sales numbers and saw its shares get hammered, down 10%. In what has to be a good sign for disappointed shareholders, the CEO bought 2,000 shares of the stock between $45.12 and $45.15, for a total just over $90,000. Investors are paid a 2% dividend. Fastenal closed Friday at $45.36.

Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. (NYSE: LTS) hits the 24/7 insider buying screen for the third week running. Two directors, one who is a 10% owner, continued their buying spree. They purchased a total of 60,000 shares at prices ranging from $3.55 to $3.64. Those buy tickets cost the pair a tidy $200,000. The stock ended the week at $3.55.

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It was a rather slow week for insider transactions, but the sellers brought home the bacon, with two major players thinning their herd. We will continue to track all of the insider data to keep our readers up-to-date.

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