Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 12,500 Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co reduced its stake in Ulta Beauty by 62.5%, selling 12,500 shares, and now holds 7,500 shares valued at approximately $2.75 million.
• Equities research analysts have increased their price targets for Ulta Beauty, with new targets ranging from $575.00 to $650.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Ulta Beauty reported a quarterly earnings per share of $5.78, exceeding estimates and showing a 9.3% year-over-year revenue increase, with revenue totaling $2.79 billion.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lessened its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 62.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 12,500 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $2,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 218.5% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 86 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 71.4% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 96 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total value of $264,215.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,195,837.09. This trade represents a 18.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ULTA shares. DA Davidson increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "buy" 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 company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $650.00 price target on Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $543.13.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $515.47 on Thursday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a twelve month low of $309.01 and a twelve month high of $539.00. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $507.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $435.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.03 by $0.75. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 48.78% and a net margin of 10.31%.The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.30 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

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