Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Given New $412.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) had its price objective reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $438.00 to $412.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $540.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $656.00 to $635.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $525.86.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA traded up $5.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $381.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 969,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 709,590. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $438.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $470.35. Ulta Beauty has a one year low of $368.02 and a one year high of $574.76. The company has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.36.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.68 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty will post 26.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Ulta Beauty 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $11,027,870.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares in the company, 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 quarter. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nvwm LLC increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4.3% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Nkcfo LLC increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Nkcfo LLC now owns 183 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

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.