Geneva Capital Management LLC Has $26 Million Stock Holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Geneva Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,726 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,129 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC owned 0.10% of Ulta Beauty worth $26,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nvwm LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4.3% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,386,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nkcfo LLC raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Nkcfo LLC now owns 183 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ ULTA traded up $4.79 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $400.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 627,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 806,098. The company has a market capitalization of $19.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 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. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $389.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $457.69.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity

In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total value of $252,642.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at $2,643,412.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ULTA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $350.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $438.00 to $412.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $605.00 to $476.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.70.

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.