AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 72.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,067 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 33,749 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.17% of Ulta Beauty worth $34,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth $57,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ULTA traded down $7.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $387.14. The stock had a trading volume of 548,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,051,599. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $361.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $383.71. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1-year low of $309.01 and a 1-year high of $460.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.06.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business 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 posted $8.08 EPS. Ulta Beauty's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ULTA has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $384.00 to $423.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. B. Riley reduced their target price on Ulta Beauty from $430.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ulta Beauty from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $405.00 to $365.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $427.17.

Insider Activity

In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This trade represents a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Company 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.