Magellan Asset Management Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd cut its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,179 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,484 shares during the quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.14% of Ulta Beauty worth $29,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 118.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 151.5% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ULTA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Ulta Beauty from $467.00 to $404.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $400.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $470.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $415.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $427.61.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This trade represents a 10.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock opened at $382.51 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $371.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $386.30. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $309.01 and a 12-month high of $474.12. The company has a market cap of $17.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.13 by $1.33. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 51.95%. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.