Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Makes New Investment in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,346 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $493,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 665 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,867 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $812,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4.3% during the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 707 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 626 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 5.0% during the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 625 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on ULTA shares. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $465.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $510.00 target price (up previously from $480.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $380.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $460.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $462.22.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total value of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This represents a 10.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of ULTA opened at $464.49 on Wednesday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52-week low of $309.01 and a 52-week high of $491.98. The business's 50 day moving average price is $421.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $399.29. The firm has a market cap of $20.88 billion, a PE ratio of 18.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.09.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The specialty retailer reported $6.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.73 by $0.97. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 49.73% and a net margin of 10.45%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.47 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict 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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