Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,084 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 185 shares during the quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 56.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,538,533 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $614,568,000 after buying an additional 556,809 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $263,192,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $176,753,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 45,740.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 290,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 177.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 407,347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $199,596,000 after acquiring an additional 260,740 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ULTA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $350.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $544.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

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

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ULTA stock traded down $3.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $389.67. 431,442 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 811,326. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $391.22 and its 200-day moving average is $461.24. The stock has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.37. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52 week low of $368.02 and a 52 week high of $574.76.

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

Ulta Beauty declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.