Summit Global Investments Takes $2.24 Million Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,795 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,236,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 33.6% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 544,072 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $284,484,000 after purchasing an additional 136,725 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth about $263,192,000. Boston Partners raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 47.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 476,027 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $246,862,000 after acquiring an additional 153,727 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 357,503 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $186,933,000 after purchasing an additional 4,344 shares during the period. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at $176,753,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 3.3 %

ULTA traded up $12.04 on Wednesday, reaching $381.09. 1,047,943 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 876,629. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a one year low of $318.17 and a one year high of $574.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $374.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $432.95. The company has a market cap of $18.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.37.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.19 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 58.06%. Ulta Beauty’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at $2,643,412.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $438.00 to $412.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $565.00 to $475.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.83.

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.