Wambolt & Associates LLC Buys 47 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Wambolt & Associates LLC raised its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,022 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $263,192,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter valued at $176,753,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 177.8% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 407,347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $199,596,000 after buying an additional 260,740 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 210.4% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 271,550 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $141,988,000 after buying an additional 184,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 47.7% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 476,027 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $246,862,000 after buying an additional 153,727 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $375.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $522.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Raymond James downgraded Ulta Beauty from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $450.00 in a report on Friday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $385.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $507.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Three 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $425.29.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $372.30 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $368.73 and a 200 day moving average of $415.84. The stock has a market cap of $17.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.31. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12 month low of $318.17 and a 12 month high of $574.76.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

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

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.