Royal Bank of Canada Raises Stake in Urban Outfitters, Inc. $URBN

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) by 169.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,837 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,002 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Urban Outfitters were worth $2,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Urban Outfitters by 8.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,313,938 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $273,274,000 after buying an additional 338,622 shares during the period. Abrams Bison Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Urban Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $127,114,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Urban Outfitters by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,507,027 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $113,434,000 after acquiring an additional 35,244 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Urban Outfitters by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,297,452 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $97,646,000 after acquiring an additional 327,453 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Urban Outfitters by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 981,130 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $62,155,000 after purchasing an additional 189,454 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.61% of the company’s stock.

Urban Outfitters Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:URBN opened at $76.64 on Tuesday. Urban Outfitters, Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.53 and a 52-week high of $84.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.52. The company has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.23.

Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.18. Urban Outfitters had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 7.48%.The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Urban Outfitters, Inc. will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on URBN shares. Weiss Ratings cut Urban Outfitters from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Urban Outfitters from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $76.00 to $93.00 in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Urban Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Urban Outfitters from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Urban Outfitters from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Melanie Marein-Efron sold 5,036 shares of Urban Outfitters stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.42, for a total transaction of $369,743.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,023 shares in the company, valued at $1,249,828.66. The trade was a 22.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Azeez Hayne sold 8,733 shares of Urban Outfitters stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.18, for a total transaction of $639,080.94. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 32.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters, Inc is a global lifestyle retailer headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in 1970 by Richard Hayne, Scott Belair and Judy Wicks, the company began as a single store catering to college students in the city’s historic Old City neighborhood. Over the decades, Urban Outfitters has expanded its reach and diversified its portfolio to include multiple retail concepts addressing distinct customer segments.

The company operates through several well-known brands, each offering a curated selection of apparel, footwear, accessories and home goods.