B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Lowers Stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG significantly decreased its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. by 42.4%, selling off 789 shares and reducing its holdings to 1,072 shares valued at approximately $393,000.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their positions in Ulta Beauty, with Ieq Capital LLC boosting its stake by 145.6% to own 15,634 shares valued at $5.73 million.
• Ulta Beauty reported better-than-expected earnings with an EPS of $5.78, surpassing analysts' estimates of $5.03, alongside a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.3% to $2.79 billion.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG reduced its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 42.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,072 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 789 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 145.6% during the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $5,730,000 after acquiring an additional 9,268 shares during the period. Comerica Bank lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 8,482 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 675 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 52.3% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,258 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter valued at about $53,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $595.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $520.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $534.75.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 7.1%

Shares of ULTA stock opened at $492.73 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $498.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $427.60. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52 week low of $309.01 and a 52 week high of $538.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.06.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.75. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 48.78%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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