1,500 Shares in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Acquired by Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC

Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $652,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Foundation Advisors grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 12,118 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,270,000 after acquiring an additional 4,121 shares in the last quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC now owns 110,211 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $44,982,000 after purchasing an additional 10,744 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 32,255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $14,029,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,146,000. Finally, Greenland Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth approximately $267,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $361.46 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $360.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $383.45. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1 year low of $309.01 and a 1 year high of $460.00. The firm has a market cap of $16.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 51.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ULTA shares. Barclays cut their price target on Ulta Beauty from $445.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $467.00 to $404.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $427.61.

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.