Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,050 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,995 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $6,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ULTA. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 7,300.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the first quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,643,412.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $625.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $605.00 to $476.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.87.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA traded down $3.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $389.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 431,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 811,326. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $391.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.24. The company has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.37. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $368.02 and a 12-month high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.19 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 58.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.