Empowered Funds LLC Buys 14,563 Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC significantly increased its ownership in Ulta Beauty Inc. by 256.2%, amassing a position worth approximately $7.42 million after acquiring over 14,500 additional shares.
• Analysts have raised multiple price targets for Ulta Beauty, with UBS Group setting a new high target of $680.00, reflecting a bullish outlook on the company's growth potential.
• Despite some insider selling, where a director sold shares worth $264,215, institutional investors remain highly invested, holding approximately 90.39% of Ulta's stock.

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 256.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,248 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 14,563 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $7,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 128.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,225,023 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $449,021,000 after acquiring an additional 688,267 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 38,770.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 443,513 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $162,565,000 after purchasing an additional 442,372 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 81.7% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 913,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $334,871,000 after purchasing an additional 410,900 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 64.8% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 931,557 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $341,453,000 after purchasing an additional 366,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 5,117.0% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 220,312 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $80,753,000 after buying an additional 216,089 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 2,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,195,837.09. This represents a 18.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

ULTA stock traded down $7.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $514.62. 454,397 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 881,849. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a one year low of $309.01 and a one year high of $539.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.73, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $509.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $437.35.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.66 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 48.78%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ULTA shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $590.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $543.13.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

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.