Bleakley Financial Group LLC Cuts Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lessened its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 664 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 31 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 106.7% in the 1st quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ULTA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $610.00 to $585.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

ULTA opened at $442.32 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $520.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $467.73. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a one year low of $368.02 and a one year high of $574.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.30.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to buy up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.