Swiss National Bank Lowers Stock Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 154,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 6,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $75,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth about $1,801,000. LGT Group Foundation raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 31,867 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,514,000 after buying an additional 4,765 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at about $320,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 7,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of ULTA stock opened at $397.39 on Monday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a twelve month low of $368.02 and a twelve month high of $574.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $486.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $470.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.36.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.68 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ULTA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Ulta Beauty from $656.00 to $635.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $665.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $548.05.

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.