Jones Financial Companies Lllp Sells 24,626 Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Jones Financial Companies Lllp reduced its stake in Ulta Beauty by 86.4%, selling 24,626 shares and holding only 3,874 shares valued at $1.42 million at the end of the last quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Shellback Capital LP and Permanens Capital L.P., increased their holdings in Ulta Beauty significantly during the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts predict positive growth for Ulta Beauty, with target prices raised to as high as $610.00 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Jones Financial Companies Lllp trimmed its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 86.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,874 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 24,626 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 6,591 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 889 shares during the last quarter. Shellback Capital LP grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 168.9% during the 1st quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 59,150 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $21,681,000 after acquiring an additional 37,150 shares during the last quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,559 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $11,568,000 after acquiring an additional 4,931 shares during the last quarter. Permanens Capital L.P. grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 28.4% during the 1st quarter. Permanens Capital L.P. now owns 11,228 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth approximately $663,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Monday, September 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $543.13.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 1.4%

ULTA opened at $514.62 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $509.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $437.35. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 1-year low of $309.01 and a 1-year high of $539.00. The company has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.06.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.03 by $0.75. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 48.78%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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.

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