Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $17.50 Million Stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its Ulta Beauty stake by 10.2% in the first quarter, but still held 33,481 shares valued at about $17.5 million.
• Ulta reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $7.74 per share versus the $6.89 estimate, with revenue of $3.16 billion, up 11.1% from a year earlier.
• Despite the strong results, several analysts lowered price targets on ULTA, though the stock still carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,481 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,793 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.08% of Ulta Beauty worth $17,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Optimize Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 1,176 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $711,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 265 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,543 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $934,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 167 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 383 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.84, for a total transaction of $182,246.72. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,143,919.36. This represents a 13.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ ULTA opened at $466.14 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $20.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $480.11 and a 200-day moving average of $564.70. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 1-year low of $443.60 and a 1-year high of $714.97.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $7.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.89 by $0.85. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 9.36%.The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.70 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.360-28.800 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ULTA shares. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $725.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $650.00 to $585.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target on Ulta Beauty from $712.00 to $647.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $560.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $810.00 to $735.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $638.09.

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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