Artemis Investment Management LLP Reduces Holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Artemis Investment Management trimmed its stake in Ulta Beauty by 14.7%, selling 3,681 shares and ending the quarter with 21,318 shares valued at about $12.9 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but overall positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $674.23, while individual targets range from steep downgrades to raises (e.g., Canaccord $799 up, Barclays cut to "strong sell").
• Ulta posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results — EPS $8.01 vs. $7.93 estimate and revenue $3.90B (up 11.8% year-over-year) — and issued FY2026 guidance of 28.05–28.55 EPS.

Artemis Investment Management LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,318 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,681 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $12,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,376,848 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,253,047,000 after buying an additional 23,434 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,975,260 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,079,973,000 after acquiring an additional 44,182 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 8.9% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 1,263,820 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $690,994,000 after purchasing an additional 103,540 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 33.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 840,383 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $459,479,000 after purchasing an additional 211,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 7.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 626,093 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $342,316,000 after acquiring an additional 43,458 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ULTA shares. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Ulta Beauty from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $674.00 to $799.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays lowered Ulta Beauty from an "overweight" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $775.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $674.23.

Key Headlines Impacting Ulta Beauty

Here are the key news stories impacting Ulta Beauty this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ulta announced a strategic data-sharing collaboration with NielsenIQ to improve marketplace visibility and merchandising decisions — a capability that can help optimize assortment, promotions and vendor relationships. NIQ and Ulta Beauty Announce Strategic Data Sharing Collaboration
• Positive Sentiment: Ulta released its full 2026 sale calendar, giving investors more visibility into planned promotional cadence — this can help model sales/traffic timing and suggests management is actively driving demand through planned events. Ulta releases full 2026 sale calendar for beauty deals
• Positive Sentiment: New product arrivals and weekly merchandising updates (e.g., dozen+ "new arrivals" items) support traffic and basket growth — continual product refresh helps Ulta sustain relevance vs. mass retailers. 11 Best Ulta Beauty “New Arrivals” Hitting Shelves This Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst / media coverage notes Ulta is a trending stock and reviews valuation after recent pullbacks — useful for investors but not an immediate fundamental catalyst. Here is What to Know Beyond Why Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA) is a Trending Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary noting recent modest outperformance or “lapping the market” provides sentiment context but is not a standalone driver. Ulta Beauty (ULTA) Laps the Stock Market: Here's Why
• Negative Sentiment: Target and Ulta have ended their five‑year in‑store partnership. That reduces a non‑store distribution channel and the convenience of linked rewards for Target shoppers — a near-term headwind to reach and incremental sales. Walmart makes in-store move to challenge Target
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart is ramping in-store beauty initiatives to compete with Target and specialty retailers, increasing competitive pressure on Ulta’s market share in mass channels. Walmart makes in-store move to challenge Target

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In related news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total transaction of $243,759.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,285,128.07. The trade was a 15.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $531.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.89. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $386.00 and a fifty-two week high of $714.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $573.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $587.43.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.93 by $0.08. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 9.31%.The company had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.46 EPS. Ulta Beauty's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.050-28.550 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

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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