Zuckerman Investment Group LLC Sells 5,704 Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC decreased its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 105,145 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,704 shares during the period. Ulta Beauty makes up approximately 5.3% of Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $57,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,353,414 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,926,979,000 after acquiring an additional 33,674 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 33.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 840,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $459,479,000 after purchasing an additional 211,485 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 9.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 654,598 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $306,234,000 after purchasing an additional 56,063 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 7.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 626,093 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $342,316,000 after purchasing an additional 43,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 6.7% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 581,506 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $317,938,000 after purchasing an additional 36,456 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Key Ulta Beauty News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ulta Beauty this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 top-line beat — net sales rose ~11.8% to about $3.9B, driven by comps and new stores, showing resilient demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Digital momentum and new channels: Ulta cites AI-driven personalization boosting e‑commerce and is launching a curated assortment on TikTok Shop to reach younger customers. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 outlook shows growth but slower cadence — management guided to mid-single-digit sales growth (roughly 6–7%) and provided an EPS range; the plan signals continued growth but a deceleration from FY25. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely keep positive ratings but are trimming price targets after the print — many firms reaffirm buy/overweight while lowering targets to reflect the more cautious margin/advertising outlook. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure from rising costs and higher SG&A — operating margin compressed as advertising, incentive compensation and strategic investments increased, squeezing EPS versus last year. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market disappointed by the forward profit signal — investors viewed the FY26 profit/same-store-sales targets and incremental spending as conservative or risk-increasing, triggering heavy selling and analyst target resets. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: High-volume selloff and volatile sentiment — the post-earnings move has driven large intraday volume and rapid target revisions, increasing short-term downside risk despite longer-term bullish arguments. Read More.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 14.2%

Ulta Beauty stock opened at $535.72 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $665.60 and a 200-day moving average of $586.85. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.36 and a 52-week high of $714.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.82.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.93 by $0.08. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 44.44%. The business had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.050-28.550 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ULTA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $674.00 to $799.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Ulta Beauty from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Ulta Beauty from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Ulta Beauty from $775.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $750.00 to $650.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $671.27.

Ulta Beauty Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc (NASDAQ: ULTA) is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and beauty services provider focused on cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, bath and body, and beauty tools. The company operates a dual-format business that combines brick-and-mortar retail stores with an e-commerce platform, offering a broad assortment of national, prestige and mass-market brands alongside its own private-label products. In many locations Ulta also provides full-service salon treatments, positioning the company as a one-stop destination for product discovery and in-store services.

The retailer’s product mix spans color cosmetics, haircare and styling products, skin and body care, fragrance, and accessories, catering to a wide range of consumer preferences and price points.