Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA – Get Free Report) Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction of $263,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.
Ulta Beauty Price Performance
Ulta Beauty stock opened at $520.37 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $522.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $458.67. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1 year low of $368.02 and a 1 year high of $574.76. The stock has a market cap of $25.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.31.
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.94 earnings per share for the current year.
Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to buy up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ULTA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 125.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,538,533 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $614,568,000 after acquiring an additional 556,809 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $263,192,000. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 405.9% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 631,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $309,417,000 after acquiring an additional 506,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $207,721,000. Institutional investors own 92.30% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages have issued reports on ULTA. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $595.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $583.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $587.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.81.
View Our Latest Analysis on Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty Company 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.
Further Reading
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