Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Purchased by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 80.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,523 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Counselors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 618 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 20,615 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,101,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. Lynch Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 172.4% during the fourth quarter. Lynch Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,950 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,935,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at $1,810,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $419.27 on Wednesday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $368.02 and a 12-month high of $574.76. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $507.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $469.06. The firm has a market cap of $20.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.30.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.68 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Loop Capital raised Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $574.00 to $627.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $561.29.

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.