Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Bought by Congress Asset Management Co. MA

Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 255,014 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA owned 0.53% of Ulta Beauty worth $124,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 56.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,538,533 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $614,568,000 after acquiring an additional 556,809 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth $263,192,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 45,740.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 291,544 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $142,854,000 after buying an additional 290,908 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 177.8% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 407,347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $199,596,000 after buying an additional 260,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 148.5% during the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 226,121 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $110,797,000 after buying an additional 135,133 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ulta Beauty news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 1.4 %

Ulta Beauty stock traded down $5.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $390.82. The stock had a trading volume of 781,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,051,174. The company has a 50-day moving average of $402.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $469.03. The company has a market cap of $18.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.36. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $368.02 and a fifty-two week high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.19 by $0.28. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 58.06% and a net margin of 11.13%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.88 EPS. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Ulta Beauty from $625.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $507.30.

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.