Insider Weekends – French Fashion House Chanel Increases Its Stake in Ulta Beauty

Welcome to edition 383 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying decreased last week with insiders purchasing $69.72 million of stock compared to $101.9 million in the week prior. Selling also decreased with insiders selling $490.79 million of stock last week compared to $573.49 million in the week prior.

Sell/Buy Ratio: The insider Sell/Buy ratio is calculated by dividing the total insider sales in a given week by total insider purchases that week. The adjusted ratio for last week went up to 7.04. In other words, insiders sold more than 7 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 5.63.

Note: As mentioned in the first post in this series, certain industries have their preferred metrics such as same store sales for retailers, funds from operations (FFO) for REITs and revenue per availab

Notable Insider Buys:

1. Ulta Beauty, Inc. (ULTA): $204.84

Director Charles Heilbronn acquired 127,889 shares of this beauty products retailer, paying $195.21 per share for a total amount of $24.97 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by Mousseluxe SARL.

After a multi-year run up that defied the general malaise faced by most retail stocks, Ulta’s stock peaked at almost $315 per share this June before giving up more than a third of its value because the company did not meet analyst estimates for same store sales growth. The last transaction by Mousseluxe SARL was a sale of 900,000 shares at an average price of $229.56 in September 2016. Mousseluxe SARL is an entity owned by the French high fashion powerhouse Chanel, which owned more than 10% of Ulta when the company went public nearly a decade ago. Following this purchase Chanel now owns 3.63% of Ulta.

The company continues to post revenue gains of over 20% each quarter handily beating both revenue and earnings estimates. Same store sales increased 13% last quarter when most retailers were posting either negative same store sales or low single digit gains. With 1,010 stores as of the end of the second quarter and revenue eclipsing $5.3 billion over the trailing twelve months, the law of large numbers could eventually put a dent in their torrid pace of growth. For now the company continues to execute well and it looks like Chanel has enough confidence in Ulta to increase its stake, albeit by a small amount.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Ulta Beauty, Inc. here.

2. Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc. (AXDX): $19.85

Director Jack W. Schuler acquired 455,672 shares of this in vitro diagnostics company, paying $19.78 per share for a total amount of $9.01 million. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc. here.

3. Akamai Technologies, Inc. (AKAM): $51.87

Chief Executive Officer Thomson F. Leighton acquired 19,670 shares of this content delivery and cloud infrastructure company, paying $50.83 per share for a total amount of $999,826. These shares were purchased indirectly through a trust.

Mr. Leighton has been on a steady diet of $1 million purchases since June of this year under a 10b5-1 trading plan he established in May. His purchases this year have totaled over $6 million and they follow nearly $15 million in purchases in 2016.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Akamai Technologies, Inc. here.

4. Tile Shop Holdings, Inc. (TTS): $8.75

Shares of this home improvement products retailer were acquired by 3 insiders:

• Director Peter J. Jacullo III acquired 48,767 shares, paying $8.53 per share for a total amount of $415,951. Mr. Jacullo increased his stake by 16.21% to 349,593 shares with this purchase.
• Director Christopher Thomas Cook acquired 28,750 shares, paying $8.59 per share for a total amount of $246,908. Mr. Cook increased his stake by 32.82% to 116,359 shares with this purchase.
• Director Philip B. Livingston acquired 7,500 shares, paying $8.53 per share for a total amount of $63,955. Mr. Livingston increased his stake by 33.31% to 30,014 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Tile Shop Holdings, Inc. here.

5. Espey Mfg. & Electronics Corp. (ESP): $21.95

Shares of this power electronics design company were acquired by 3 insiders:

• Director Paul J. Corr acquired 9,000 shares, paying $21.65 per share for a total amount of $194,843. Mr. Corr increased his stake by 78.68% to 20,439 shares with this purchase.
• Director Alvin O. Sabo acquired 2,459 shares, paying $21.73 per share for a total amount of $53,429. 1,149 of these shares were purchased indirectly through an IRA account and 1,310 shares were purchased indirectly by Mr. Sabo’s spouse.
• President & CEO Patrick Thomas Enright acquired 500 shares, paying $21.50 per share for a total amount of $10,750. Mr. Enright increased his stake by 20.00% to 3,000 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Espey Mfg. & Electronics Corp. here.

You can view the full list of purchases from this Insider Buying page.

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR): $41.2

Executive Chairman Ronald L. Nelson sold 250,000 shares of this vehicle rental company for $41.02, generating $10.26 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Avis Budget Group, Inc. here.

2. Workday, Inc. (WDAY): $108.56

Shares of this application software company were sold by 8 insiders:

• Chief Executive Officer Aneel Bhusri sold 11,163 shares for $107.51, generating $1.2 million from the sale.
• co-President Mark S. Peek sold 9,516 shares for $107.50, generating $1.02 million from the sale.
• Director Michael A. Stankey sold 8,836 shares for $107.50, generating $949,839 from the sale.
• SVP, General Counsel & Secty James P. Shaughnessy sold 8,781 shares for $108.44, generating $952,188 from the sale.
• COO & Executive Vice President James Bozzini sold 6,175 shares for $107.49, generating $663,779 from the sale.
• Chief Financial Officer Robynne Sisco sold 5,267 shares for $107.36, generating $565,451 from the sale.
• co-President Philip W. Wilmington sold 5,160 shares for $107.31, generating $553,709 from the sale.
• Director David A. Duffield sold 4,024 shares for $107.50, generating $432,591 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Workday, Inc. here.

3. Carnival Corporation (CCL): $65.88

President & CEO Arnold W. Donald sold 90,903 shares of this cruise line company for $67.41, generating $6.13 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Carnival Corporation here.

4. Forest City Realty Trust, Inc (FCEA): $0

Shares of this property management company were sold by 4 insiders:

• Director James A. Ratner sold 70,834 shares for $25.18, generating $1.78 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through various trusts.
• Executive Vice President Ronald A. Ratner sold 65,333 shares for $25.18, generating $1.65 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through various trusts.
• Executive Vice President Deborah Ratnersalzberg sold 39,633 shares for $25.18, generating $998,128 from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through various trusts.
• Executive Vice President Brian J. Ratner sold 37,000 shares for $25.18, generating $931,818 from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through various trusts.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Forest City Realty Trust, Inc here.

5. TRI Pointe Group, Inc. (TPH): $15.54

CFO and Treasurer Michael D. Grubbs sold 300,000 shares of this residential construction company for $15.02, generating $4.51 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for TRI Pointe Group, Inc. here.

You can view the full list of sales from this Insider Sales page.

Disclaimer: I hold a long position in Workday (WDAY). Please do your own due diligence before buying or selling any securities mentioned in this article. We do not warrant the completeness or accuracy of the content or data provided in this article.

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