Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Reduces Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Diamond Hill Capital Management cut its Ulta Beauty stake by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,985 shares and leaving it with 32,547 shares valued at about $19.7 million.
• Ulta Beauty recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $8.01 versus $7.93 expected and revenue of $3.90 billion versus $3.81 billion estimated. Revenue rose 11.8% year over year.
• Wall Street remains mostly positive on the stock, with 19 Buy ratings and an average target price of $687.95, even though the shares were trading at $504.05 and one analyst recently downgraded the stock to Hold.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,547 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,985 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.07% of Ulta Beauty worth $19,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 265 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,543 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 211 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 996 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total value of $243,759.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,383 shares in the company, valued at $1,285,128.07. This trade represents a 15.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock opened at $504.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.89. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $402.76 and a fifty-two week high of $714.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $531.50 and a 200 day moving average of $586.20.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.93 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 9.31%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.46 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.050-28.550 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.47 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ULTA. Evercore set a $725.00 price target on Ulta Beauty in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Zacks Research downgraded Ulta Beauty from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $674.00 to $799.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Monday, March 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $687.95.

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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