Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Reduces Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd trimmed its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,583 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $8,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 180,713.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,238,569 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $481,952,000 after buying an additional 1,237,884 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 14.1% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 620,793 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $239,545,000 after purchasing an additional 76,721 shares in the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 516,405 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $200,944,000 after buying an additional 65,000 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 47.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 476,027 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $246,862,000 after buying an additional 153,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 422,801 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $163,149,000 after buying an additional 24,822 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Ulta Beauty stock opened at $373.30 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $376.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $384.65. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1-year low of $318.17 and a 1-year high of $574.76. The company has a market cap of $17.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.32.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.47 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 54.02% and a net margin of 10.68%. Ulta Beauty’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ULTA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. B. Riley started coverage on Ulta Beauty in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $420.71.

Ulta Beauty 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.