Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Up 2.6%

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)’s share price was up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $377.72 and last traded at $377.17. Approximately 216,894 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 923,979 shares. The stock had previously closed at $367.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ULTA shares. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $395.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $412.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $485.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $356.00 price objective (down from $404.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $520.00 to $450.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $425.29.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $369.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $416.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.31.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.47 by ($0.17). Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 54.02% and a net margin of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 93.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 134,954 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $66,126,000 after purchasing an additional 65,225 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 72.2% during the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 2,562 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.