Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,371 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 19,873 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Ulta Beauty worth $30,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 231.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,744 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,372,000 after acquiring an additional 2,615 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 48.9% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the second quarter worth about $466,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4.2% in the second quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 851 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 18,016 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $8,428,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of ULTA opened at $690.37 on Friday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 12-month low of $309.01 and a 12-month high of $695.34. The company has a market cap of $30.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $627.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $560.33.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.61 by $0.53. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 46.33%. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.14 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.200-25.500 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ULTA. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $653.00 to $674.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $680.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $725.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Argus lifted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Two investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.44.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

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.