Magellan Asset Management Ltd Trims Stock Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lowered its position in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 19.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 63,708 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 15,492 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.14% of Ulta Beauty worth $29,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aviva PLC increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 6.1% during the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 36,129 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $16,902,000 after acquiring an additional 2,074 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1,980.2% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 16,850 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,883,000 after purchasing an additional 16,040 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth about $610,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1,205.6% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 235 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 2nd quarter valued at about $284,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In related news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total value of $264,215.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,195,837.09. This represents a 18.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $589.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, July 25th. Argus raised Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $570.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.38.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of ULTA opened at $517.79 on Friday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 1 year low of $309.01 and a 1 year high of $572.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $530.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $487.40.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.75. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 48.78%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current 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.