Insider Buys Of The Week: Conagra, Salesforce, Thor

• Insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors.
• Trading plans and public offerings prompted some insider buying last week.
• A director at an RV maker also stepped up to the buy window as well.

Conventional wisdom says 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 with markets at all-time highs.

Here's a look at a few notable insider purchases reported in the past week.

Salesforce

While the board chair and other Salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE: CRM) executives have been selling throughout October, one director stepped up to the buy window this past week. That director picked up 6,000 shares at between $146.36 and $147.33 apiece. That totaled more than $880,000 and was pursuant to a 10b5-1 trading plan.

The company's collaboration with eMoney was on display at the eMoney Summit 2018 in Orlando. The stock ended Friday at $146.74, down more than 4 percent for the week, and above the director's purchase price range. The S&P 500 was less than 4 percent lower in that time. The consensus price target for Salesforce is $171.72 a share.

Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands Inc (NYSE: CAG) saw its chief executive, chief financial officer and a director purchase altogether more than 24,000 shares of this packaged foods company late last week. At $35.35 a share, the transactions totaled nearly $850,000, and they were part of a recently announced public offering of common stock.

Conagra was a recent Jim Cramer pick, and at least one analyst says to buy the dip. The shares ended the past week trading at $35.35 apiece, after rising more than 3 percent. They have traded as low as $32.82 and as high as $39.43 in the past 52 weeks. The consensus price target was last seen at $42.00.

See also: Adidas CEO Talks Tariffs, Yeezy Release And The Rise Of 3D-Printed Shoes

Thor Industries

Thor Industries, Inc. (NYSE: THO) also had a director make a purchase last week. The 5,000 shares of this Indiana-based recreational vehicle maker acquired, at per-share prices of $81.65 to $81.74, totaled more than $408,000. That lifted the director's stake to 14,000 shares.

Thor saw a price target change and a new board member appointed last week. Its shares ended the past week with a fractional retreat, despite being down about 4 percent at one point. They were last seen trading at $80.43 apiece, so no quick pop for this director. The analysts' mean price target is way up at $130.88, but shares have traded as high as $161.48 in the past year.