Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 61,515 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 48.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,675 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 61,515 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $23,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 115 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 35.6% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 118 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $462.43 on Friday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a twelve month low of $309.01 and a twelve month high of $491.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $402.75 and its 200-day moving average is $394.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.09.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The specialty retailer reported $6.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.73 by $0.97. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.47 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ULTA has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $415.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $315.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Bank of America cut their price target on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Argus cut Ulta Beauty from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $460.91.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total value of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,429.12. This represents a 10.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.