Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Sold by Motley Fool Asset Management LLC

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 127 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bfsg LLC increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 6,258 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,066,000 after buying an additional 2,167 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth $93,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,755 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 14,832 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,268,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 27,037 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

ULTA opened at $406.39 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $500.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $468.35. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12 month low of $368.02 and a 12 month high of $574.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.30.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.68 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 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 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ULTA. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Loop Capital upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $556.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the business’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 transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $876,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,523,936.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.