Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires New Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Andrew Hill Investment Advisors bought a new position of 3,144 shares of Ulta Beauty (≈$1.903M) in Q4, making the stock about 1.4% of the fund and its 22nd-largest holding.
• Ulta beat expectations in its most recent quarter with EPS $8.01 vs. $7.93 estimate and revenue $3.90B vs. $3.81B, with revenue up 11.8% year-over-year and FY2026 EPS guidance of 28.05–28.55.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive — MarketBeat shows a "Moderate Buy" consensus with a $674.23 price target, and institutional investors hold roughly 90.4% of the stock.

Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,144 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,903,000. Ulta Beauty makes up about 1.4% of Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 231.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,744 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,372,000 after acquiring an additional 2,615 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 48.9% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,758,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the second quarter worth approximately $466,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the second quarter worth $1,196,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.9% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,475 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,497,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock opened at $520.38 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.95. The company's fifty day moving average price is $612.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $588.32. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52-week low of $347.48 and a 52-week high of $714.97.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.93 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.46 EPS. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.050-28.550 EPS. Analysts predict that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total value of $243,759.08. Following the sale, the director owned 2,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,285,128.07. This represents a 15.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ULTA. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $750.00 to $650.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $610.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $674.23.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc NASDAQ: ULTA is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and beauty services provider focused on cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, bath and body, and beauty tools. The company operates a dual-format business that combines brick-and-mortar retail stores with an e-commerce platform, offering a broad assortment of national, prestige and mass-market brands alongside its own private-label products. In many locations Ulta also provides full-service salon treatments, positioning the company as a one-stop destination for product discovery and in-store services.

The retailer's product mix spans color cosmetics, haircare and styling products, skin and body care, fragrance, and accessories, catering to a wide range of consumer preferences and price points.

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