William Blair Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 1.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 117,311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,228 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $61,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at about $263,192,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at about $176,753,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 45,740.3% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 291,544 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $142,854,000 after purchasing an additional 290,908 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 177.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 407,347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $199,596,000 after purchasing an additional 260,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $141,988,000 after purchasing an additional 184,060 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

NASDAQ:ULTA traded down $9.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $400.47. 730,733 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 808,088. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $390.24 and its 200-day moving average is $455.35. The stock has a market cap of $19.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.37. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1-year low of $368.02 and a 1-year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.19 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 58.06% and a net margin of 11.13%. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.88 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 24th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Ulta Beauty from $498.00 to $494.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Loop Capital raised Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $502.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at $2,643,412.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the firm’s 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.