Impax Asset Management Group plc Decreases Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Impax Asset Management trimmed its Ulta holding by 5.4% in Q4, selling 2,273 shares and ending the period with 39,795 shares worth about $24.08 million (0.09% of the company).
• Ulta beat quarterly expectations (EPS $8.01 vs. $7.93; revenue $3.90B vs. $3.81B), reported revenue up 11.8% year‑over‑year, and set FY2026 EPS guidance of $28.05–28.55.
• Wall Street is divided—Barclays downgraded Ulta to a "strong sell" while consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $674.23—and the stock traded down about 1% amid broad market rotation.

Impax Asset Management Group plc lessened its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,795 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,273 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned 0.09% of Ulta Beauty worth $24,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 265 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,543 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $934,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 10.5% in the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 211 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 996 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $602,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total transaction of $243,759.08. Following the sale, the director owned 2,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,285,128.07. The trade was a 15.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of ULTA opened at $558.55 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $586.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $587.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.95. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 1-year low of $377.58 and a 1-year high of $714.97.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.46 EPS. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.050-28.550 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Ulta Beauty

Here are the key news stories impacting Ulta Beauty this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Partnership with Google to add AI-powered shopping features could improve customer discovery and e‑commerce conversion, supporting long‑term growth in omnichannel sales. Ulta Beauty, Google partner on AI-powered shopping experiences
• Positive Sentiment: Ulta Beauty World 2026 drew record crowds and spotlighted indie/emerging brands and celebrity tie‑ins — a positive for brand halo, store traffic and wholesale/brand partnerships. Ulta Beauty World draws record crowds and boosts emerging brands
• Positive Sentiment: Company fundamentals remain supportive: recent quarterly results showed a top‑line beat and management set FY2026 EPS guidance (28.05–28.55). That beats/frames street expectations and underpins valuation multiple resilience.
• Neutral Sentiment: Barron’s reexamined ULTA as a previously recommended idea, noting bullish technical indicators (200‑day SMA recovery potential) — useful for technical traders but not new fundamental news. Reexamining Stock Picks Ulta Beauty, Peabody Energy, U-Haul
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays flagged that an oil price shock could reshape discretionary retail winners and losers; off‑price chains may be more resilient than traditional discretionary merchandisers. This is a sector headwind more than an Ulta‑specific call. Barclays lists retail sector winners and losers in an oil shock
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data published for April looks anomalous (shows zero shares / NaN change), so it’s not a reliable signal for today’s move; monitor later filings for clarity.
• Negative Sentiment: Market‑reaction pieces note the stock has declined today (around a 1% move), which appears driven by broad market rotation and sector sentiment rather than fresh negative company news. Ulta Beauty (ULTA) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ULTA. Barclays cut shares of Ulta Beauty from an "overweight" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $750.00 to $650.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $810.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $635.00 to $700.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $674.00 to $799.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $674.23.

Ulta Beauty Profile

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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