AMF Tjanstepension AB Invests $17.90 Million in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 32,735 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $17,898,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB owned approximately 0.07% of Ulta Beauty as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 9.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 654,598 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $306,234,000 after acquiring an additional 56,063 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 5.4% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 582,635 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $272,568,000 after purchasing an additional 30,100 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 581,506 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $317,938,000 after purchasing an additional 36,456 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth about $258,791,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 76.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 477,504 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $222,794,000 after purchasing an additional 207,084 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Ulta Beauty News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ulta Beauty this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Expansion into the Middle East: Ulta announced its first UAE store at Mall of the Emirates (opening Jan. 29) in partnership with franchise operator Alshaya, building on a November Kuwait debut — a move that diversifies revenue and uses a partner-led model to limit capex. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism: TD Cowen raised Ulta’s price target to $775, signaling bullish analyst sentiment that can support the stock as investors re-rate long-term growth expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: New retail concepts: Ulta is expanding wellness-focused shop‑in‑shop boutiques, aligning with consumer wellness trends and opening new margin and traffic drivers within stores. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strong consumer demand: Tickets for Ulta Beauty World sold out in minutes, showing high brand engagement and the power of experiential marketing to drive loyalty and future spend. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings: Ulta is about to report Q4 results; previews note expectations of weaker EPS, so the report (and company guidance) will be the immediate catalyst to confirm whether growth and margin momentum continue. Monitor the release for actual versus expected numbers. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: PR/backlash risk from event execution: While demand was strong, rapid sell-outs and ticketing issues have led to customer disappointment and negative headlines — a short-term reputational risk that could draw management time and attention and may pressure sentiment if unresolved. Read More. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial upgraded Ulta Beauty from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $605.00 to $790.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $732.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $620.04.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 0.7%

ULTA opened at $686.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $30.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $598.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $548.40. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52 week low of $309.01 and a 52 week high of $695.34.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.61 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 46.33%. The business’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.14 EPS. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.200-25.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc (NASDAQ: ULTA) is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and beauty services provider focused on cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, bath and body, and beauty tools. The company operates a dual-format business that combines brick-and-mortar retail stores with an e-commerce platform, offering a broad assortment of national, prestige and mass-market brands alongside its own private-label products. In many locations Ulta also provides full-service salon treatments, positioning the company as a one-stop destination for product discovery and in-store services.

The retailer’s product mix spans color cosmetics, haircare and styling products, skin and body care, fragrance, and accessories, catering to a wide range of consumer preferences and price points.