Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 20.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 24,401 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $35,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 120.2% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 14,448 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,079,000 after acquiring an additional 7,887 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 92.8% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 7,278 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,806,000 after purchasing an additional 3,504 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 71.7% during the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,868 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. Broad Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,412,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 10.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 89,799 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $46,954,000 after buying an additional 8,337 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other 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 transaction, the insider now owns 6,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,643,412.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $378.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $368.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $413.28. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52-week low of $318.17 and a 52-week high of $574.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.31.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.47 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 54.02%. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.02 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.21 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $438.00 to $412.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $450.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $412.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $385.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $485.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $425.29.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

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.