Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Stock Holdings Boosted by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 50.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,086 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,702 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 180,713.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,238,569 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $481,952,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,884 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the third quarter valued at approximately $359,480,000. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 3,246.2% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 346,262 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $134,737,000 after purchasing an additional 335,914 shares during the period. Atreides Management LP bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter valued at $73,069,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 87.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 337,882 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $130,380,000 after purchasing an additional 157,497 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $423.91 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $376.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $377.50. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52 week low of $318.17 and a 52 week high of $574.76. The company has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.32.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.69. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 51.95%. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $485.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $472.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $357.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $335.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $439.30.

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.