Earnest Partners LLC Sells 2,529 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Earnest Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 146,864 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,529 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned 0.32% of Ulta Beauty worth $63,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth about $430,674,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,432,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 10,336.7% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 459,110 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $199,681,000 after purchasing an additional 454,711 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,074,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 364.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 159,053 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $69,177,000 after buying an additional 124,822 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ULTA traded up $2.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $395.81. The stock had a trading volume of 524,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,052,192. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a twelve month low of $309.01 and a twelve month high of $460.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $360.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $383.20. The firm has a market cap of $17.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.13 by $1.33. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The business's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.08 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,817,429.12. The trade was a 10.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ULTA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $460.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective 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. 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. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $364.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Ulta Beauty from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $427.17.

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.