New York State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 2,581 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,581 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $20,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth about $263,192,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth $176,753,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 177.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 407,347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $199,596,000 after acquiring an additional 260,740 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 210.4% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 271,550 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $141,988,000 after purchasing an additional 184,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 47.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 476,027 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $246,862,000 after buying an additional 153,727 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ULTA. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $350.00 to $325.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $492.00.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock traded up $2.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $377.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 679,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,985. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $374.12 and a 200 day moving average of $432.18. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12 month low of $318.17 and a 12 month high of $574.76. The company has a market capitalization of $18.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

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

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.