Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Purchased by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 33.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $8,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ULTA. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 913.9% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 730 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 45.7% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 1,594 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.8% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 31,587 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $12,291,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 451.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 149 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 100.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 10,353 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,029,000 after acquiring an additional 5,197 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ULTA shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $364.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ulta Beauty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $384.00 to $423.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $400.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $427.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total value of $332,982.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This represents a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of ULTA opened at $359.36 on Friday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1 year low of $309.01 and a 1 year high of $460.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $369.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $385.89.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.13 by $1.33. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.08 EPS. Analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 EPS 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.