Insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors, especially as the markets approach historic highs.

A PSPC, a few retailers and a rail operator saw a notable insider buy last week.

A general manager was added to two different participations last week.

Conventional wisdom says that insiders and 10% owners actually buy a company’s stock for one reason only: they believe the stock price will rise and they want to profit from it. Thus, insider buying can be an encouraging signal to potential investors, especially when there is uncertainty in the markets or when the markets are near their all-time highs.

Note that with the end of the earnings season, insiders as a whole are no longer prohibited from buying or selling stocks. Here are some of the more notable insider buys that have been reported over the past week.

The sponsor and 10% owner of the ad hoc acquisition company ARYA Sciences Acquisition III Corp (NASDAQ: ARYA) indirectly bought more than 330,000 of its shares last week. At prices ranging from $ 10.01 to $ 10.15 per share, it cost the owner over $ 3.31 million. This latest transaction brought the owner’s stake to nearly 490,000 shares.

The purchase of nearly 47,000 others PennyMac Financial Services Inc (NYSE: PFSI) shares of a director (and frequent buyer) for an average of $ 62.67 per share totaled more than $ 2.94 million. Note that a beneficial owner also sold nearly 191,300 shares of this California-based mortgage company last week.

An officer at Franchise Group Inc (NASDAQ: FRG) acquired 50,000 shares earlier this week. At $ 36 per share, the trades amounted to $ 1.80 million, and they brought this officer’s stake to over 400,700 shares. Note that the CEO of this operator of franchise companies, including Liberty Tax and Vitamin Shoppe, bought back one million shares last May.

A First Financial Bankshares Inc (NASDAQ: FFIN) the director bought nearly 29,800 shares earlier this week. This director paid $ 50.85 each for these actions, which totaled more than $ 1.51 million. At the end of Friday’s session, the stock was trading at $ 51.66 per share, 24 cents below the all-time high.

In the middle of the week, 1847 Goedeker Inc (NYSE: GOED) asked three directors to take advantage of a secondary offer to buy a total of 557,600 shares at $ 2.24 a piece. Separately, an executive bought less than 600 shares of this Internet retailer for $ 1.91 a piece. These transactions totaled approximately $ 1.25 million.

Following the announcement of an acquisition, Precision Vishay Group Inc (NYSE: VPG) asked a director to indirectly buy 30,000 shares at prices ranging from $ 34.91 to $ 36.29. This totaled over $ 1.05 million. But the maker of scientific and technical instruments ended the week at $ 34.73 a share.

Dun & Bradstreet Holdings Inc (NYSE: DNB) CEO Anthony Jabbour and another executive showed up at the buying window. The 50,700 shares they acquired in total, priced between $ 20.87 and $ 21.05, totaled more than $ 1.06 million.

Note that Jabbour, who is also the CEO of Dark Knight Inc (NYSE: BKI), recovered 13,900 of those shares through the trust last week. Stock prices ranged from $ 71.58 to $ 71.92, and those purchases totaled approximately $ 997,600. The stake was listed at nearly 75,700 shares, and the share closed the week at $ 73.24 per share.

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) asked a director to add more than 2,300 shares early last week. This totaled over $ 664,300, at an average price of around $ 282.69. Shares of this rail operator slipped slightly last week and traded at $ 279.30 per share on Friday.

See also: President Bob Iger halves Disney stake after selling nearly $ 100 million in stock this week

Note that a smaller amount of insiders buying at Albertsons Companies Inc (NYSE: ACI), Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW), Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), DXC Technology Co (NYSE: DXC), FireEye Inc (NASDAQ: FEYE) and Safehold Inc (NYSE: SAFE) was also reported last week.

At the time of this writing, the author has no position in the mentioned stocks.

Keep up to date with all the latest trading news and ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter or on her YouTube channel.

(Photo by Jonathan Tasman on Unsplash)