Insider Buying Continues This Week as Market Trades Lower

Investing

Published: September 13, 2014 9:10 am

Despite a rash of global issues, and the always somber 9/11 remembrances, the stock market managed to keep a reasonably even keel in the first full week of trading after the holiday and the unofficial end of summer. Volumes, which were dismally low in the end of August and last week, are starting to pick up again, and that is a good sign.

Insiders looking to buy stock took advantage of the better volumes and returned to the market this past week. We track insider transactions every week at 24/7 Wall Street. One thing has been a constant for the last month or so. Regular buyers have come back week after week to add to their positions.

Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG) once again leads off last week’s insider buying. Cascade Investments, the private investment arm of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, continued to add shares of the waste management company. Cascade made four separate purchases during the week that totaled 118,889 shares, at prices that ranged from $39.10 to $39.20. The total tab came to $4,750,000, which is small in comparison to some of the mammoth purchases earlier this summer. Shares ended trading Friday at $39.15.

Southern Copper Corp. (NYSE: SCCO) is another stock that continues to hit our screens, and the same top executive keeps adding to the position. The chairman of the board bought another 150,000 shares, at prices from $31.50 to $31.90. The total came to $4.8 million. Investors may want to keep an eye on this industry leader. If growth and copper prices start to spike, the stock could take off. Shares ended Friday at $31.93.

GFI Group Inc. (NYSE: GFIG) saw a massive buy this week from a 10% owner of the stock. BGC Partners bought 3.6 million shares of the stock at prices that ranged from $4.66 to $4.99 per share. The total buy was a whopping $17.4 million. The company appears to be the target of a bidding war between Cantor Fitzgerald spin-off BGC and CME Group. BGC had announced a $5.25 tender offer for the stock, but clearly that price is not enough. Shares close up 2% Friday at $6.02.

Altisource Asset Management Corp. (NYSE: AAMC) is another stock that showed up on our insider buying screens again this week. Luxor Capital Group bought an additional 12,272 shares of the stock at $700 apiece. The total purchase came to a rich $8.6 million. Altisource provides asset management and corporate governance services for institutional investors in the United States. Shares ended the week at $695.07.

Intersections Inc. (NASDAQ: INTX) saw a 10% owner Osmium Partners make a substantial addition to its holdings. The company bought 552,795 shares of stock at prices that ranged from $3.57 to $4.01, for a total purchase price of $2.1 million. Intersections is a leading provider of identity risk management, privacy protection and other subscription based services for consumers. The stock was trading at $4.24 at Friday’s close.

Other companies that saw insider buying this past week included: Nuverra Environmental Solutions Inc. (NYSE: NES), Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. (NYSE: LTS), Transdigm Group Inc. (NYSE: TDG), Iron Mountain Inc. (NYSE: IRM) and Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ: TITN).

We follow insider buying every week at 24/7 Wall Street, and stocks that continue to show up on our screens week after week are showing solid accumulation by insiders. Investors may want to delve a little deeper into their businesses and see if they make a good portfolio fit.