Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. trimmed its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,557 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 292 shares during the period. Ulta Beauty comprises about 1.6% of Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 490.0% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 59 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ULTA has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $350.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $574.00 to $627.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $544.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $438.00 to $412.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine 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 MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total value of $252,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,643,412.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

ULTA traded up $5.82 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $395.82. 912,229 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 810,083. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12 month low of $368.02 and a 12 month high of $574.76. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $389.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $458.65. The stock has a market cap of $18.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.37.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.19 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 58.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.76 EPS for the current 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 repurchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ulta Beauty 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.