CX Institutional purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA – Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 349 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $171,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 125.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,530,543 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $717,932,000 after buying an additional 852,258 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 56.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,538,533 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $614,568,000 after buying an additional 556,809 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the second quarter worth about $207,721,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth about $205,146,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 9.5% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,236,208 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,993,538,000 after acquiring an additional 367,437 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms have recently commented on ULTA. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $595.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $656.00 to $635.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, December 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $583.00 to $612.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $574.00 to $627.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.81.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Ulta Beauty
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Ulta Beauty news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at $5,523,936.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Ulta Beauty Trading Down 2.8 %
Shares of ULTA stock opened at $505.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $523.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $460.07. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12 month low of $368.02 and a 12 month high of $574.76.
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Ulta Beauty announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
About Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty, Inc operate specialty retail stores selling cosmetics, fragrance, haircare and skincare products, and related accessories and services in the United States. It offers broad assortment of branded and private label beauty products including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools; and salon services, including hair, skin, makeup, and brow services, as well as nail services.
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