Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA – Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Raymond James from $630.00 to $610.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Raymond James currently has a strong-buy rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.
ULTA has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $595.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $576.70.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty Trading Down 15.3 %
Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $439.98 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $528.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $465.14. The company has a market cap of $21.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.30. Ulta Beauty has a 12 month low of $368.02 and a 12 month high of $574.76.
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.68 EPS. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty will post 26.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Ulta Beauty declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty
In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction of $263,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ULTA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 125.6% in 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 period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,538,533 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $614,568,000 after buying an additional 556,809 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at $263,192,000. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 405.9% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 631,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $309,417,000 after buying an additional 506,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the second quarter worth $207,721,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.
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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