Meeder Asset Management Inc. Grows Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 26,487.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,211 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $3,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 83.3% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 490.0% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 59 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $373.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $368.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $415.54. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52 week low of $318.17 and a 52 week high of $574.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.31.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.47 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 54.02%. Ulta Beauty’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $544.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $375.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $328.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $385.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $435.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $425.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the completion of 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. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ulta Beauty Company 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.