Freedom Investment Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 610 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 140 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ULTA. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,199,935 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $520,587,000 after purchasing an additional 11,205 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth approximately $239,432,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 10,336.7% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 459,110 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $199,681,000 after buying an additional 454,711 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 450,239 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $186,912,000 after acquiring an additional 74,013 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 319,938 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $139,151,000 after acquiring an additional 12,273 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This represents a 10.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ULTA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Argus downgraded Ulta Beauty from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $427.61.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

ULTA stock opened at $378.67 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $357.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $382.25. The firm has a market cap of $17.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1 year low of $309.01 and a 1 year high of $460.00.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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.