Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Makes New $288,000 Investment in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 587 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 24.5% in the third quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 127 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 1.4% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,820 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phoenix Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 2.6% during the third quarter. Phoenix Wealth Advisors now owns 1,106 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $665.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $580.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $574.00 to $627.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $546.86.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of ULTA stock opened at $394.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.36. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1 year low of $368.02 and a 1 year high of $574.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $483.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $470.33.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.