Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 20.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,290 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 9,247 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $13,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ULTA. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 83.3% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 151.5% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 118.4% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $430.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $384.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $379.44. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1-year low of $318.17 and a 1-year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.69. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The company’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $335.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $357.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. William Blair lowered Ulta Beauty from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $435.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $439.30.

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.