IFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA – Free Report) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 672 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the quarter. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 852,258 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 56.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,538,533 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $614,568,000 after purchasing an additional 556,809 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter valued at approximately $207,721,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,146,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,236,208 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,993,538,000 after acquiring an additional 367,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research firms have recently issued reports on ULTA. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $587.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $656.00 to $635.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.70.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on ULTA
Ulta Beauty Price Performance
ULTA stock opened at $522.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.31. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52-week low of $368.02 and a 52-week high of $574.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $526.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $462.19.
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. The company 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 company’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Ulta Beauty declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $876,222.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.
Ulta Beauty Profile
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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