Magellan Asset Management Ltd Increases Holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Key Points

• Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. by 17.9% in the first quarter, now owning 79,200 shares valued at approximately $29 million.
• Ulta Beauty reported earnings per share (EPS) of $6.70 for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.97, with revenue reaching $2.85 billion.
• Analysts are optimistic, with several raising their price targets for Ulta Beauty, reflecting a general sentiment that the stock is on an upward trend.

Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 17.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,200 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 12,021 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned 0.18% of Ulta Beauty worth $29,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,649,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 813,639 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $298,231,000 after buying an additional 79,666 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 81.7% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 913,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $334,871,000 after buying an additional 410,900 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at about $77,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $498.21 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $483.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $414.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.12. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52 week low of $309.01 and a 52 week high of $523.68.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The specialty retailer reported $6.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.73 by $0.97. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.79 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 49.73%. The business's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.47 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 price objective (up from $450.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $465.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $542.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $490.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $469.09.

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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