Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Boosts Stock Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 28.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,195 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $430,674,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,432,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 10,336.7% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 459,110 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $199,681,000 after acquiring an additional 454,711 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 38,770.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 443,513 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $162,565,000 after acquiring an additional 442,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,780,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 0.1%

ULTA stock opened at $473.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $417.25 and a 200-day moving average of $398.50. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 12-month low of $309.01 and a 12-month high of $491.98. The company has a market cap of $21.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.09.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The specialty retailer reported $6.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.73 by $0.97. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 49.73% and a net margin of 10.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.47 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $440.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $460.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $437.00 price target (up from $386.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $510.00 price target (up from $480.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Monday, June 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $462.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,429.12. The trade was a 10.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.