Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Stock Price Up 4%

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) was up 4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $386.04 and last traded at $383.64. Approximately 577,362 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 873,165 shares. The stock had previously closed at $369.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on ULTA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $544.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.83.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 3.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $18.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $374.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $432.95.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.19 by $0.28. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 58.06%. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,643,412.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 80.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. abrdn plc grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 25,541 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,515,000 after acquiring an additional 5,788 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 877 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 4,654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,280,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc operates as a specialty beauty retailer in the United States. The company offers branded and private label beauty products, including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools through its Ulta Beauty stores, shop-in-shops, Ulta.com website, and its mobile applications.