Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft Purchases New Shares in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft has acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty Inc., purchasing 24,024 shares valued at approximately $11.24 million, making it the bank's 20th largest position at about 0.8% of its portfolio.
• Insider trading activity includes Director Mike C. Smith selling 500 shares of Ulta Beauty for over $264,000, reducing his holding by 18.1%.
• Recent analyst ratings for Ulta Beauty show an average rating of "Moderate Buy", with a consensus price target of $543.13 and some analysts issuing target prices as high as $680.00.

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 24,024 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $11,235,000. Ulta Beauty comprises 0.8% of Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft owned approximately 0.05% of Ulta Beauty at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ULTA. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 834 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 1.6% during the first quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 32.5% during the first quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 110 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 707 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 625 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total transaction of $264,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,195,837.09. This trade represents a 18.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ULTA. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $595.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Bank of America upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ulta Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $543.13.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ULTA traded down $13.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $521.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,150,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 888,832. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a twelve month low of $309.01 and a twelve month high of $539.00. The company's 50-day moving average is $514.04 and its 200-day moving average is $443.18. The company has a market capitalization of $23.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.06.

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