Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Holdings Lowered by Geneva Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Geneva Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 5.6%, selling 1,394 shares, and now holds approximately 23,426 shares valued at $8.59 million.
• Ulta Beauty's stock was recently upgraded by various brokerages, with price targets set as high as $585, reflecting a generally positive outlook despite one "sell" rating from analysts.
• In its most recent earnings report, Ulta Beauty achieved an EPS of $6.70, exceeding expectations and showing a 4.5% year-over-year revenue growth with a total of $2.85 billion for the quarter.

Geneva Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,426 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,394 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Ulta Beauty worth $8,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at $430,674,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 655,561 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $285,123,000 after purchasing an additional 9,291 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 562,155 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $244,498,000 after purchasing an additional 72,004 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 536,169 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $196,527,000 after purchasing an additional 20,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 466,584 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $202,936,000 after purchasing an additional 12,158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ULTA. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective (up from $450.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $327.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $440.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $469.09.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 1.9%

NASDAQ:ULTA traded down $10.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $506.17. The stock had a trading volume of 799,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 890,388. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $481.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $413.66. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52 week low of $309.01 and a 52 week high of $523.68.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The specialty retailer reported $6.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.73 by $0.97. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 49.73%. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.47 EPS. Ulta Beauty's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Ulta Beauty 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.