Woodline Partners LP Makes New $1.23 Million Investment in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,829 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,230,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 115 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 213.7% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,429.12. This trade represents a 10.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock traded up $4.87 on Thursday, reaching $421.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,325,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,051,305. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1 year low of $309.01 and a 1 year high of $460.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $381.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $387.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $460.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $424.78.

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.