Maverick Capital Ltd. Decreases Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Maverick Capital Ltd. reduced its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. by 61.2%, holding 3,747 shares worth approximately $1.37 million after selling 5,922 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Ulta Beauty, with Jefferies Financial Group setting a new target of $550, while JPMorgan Chase increased their target to $600, reflecting positive sentiment on the stock.
• Ulta Beauty reported earnings of $5.78 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with revenue rising to $2.79 billion compared to consensus estimates of $2.66 billion.

Maverick Capital Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 61.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,747 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,922 shares during the quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd.'s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter worth approximately $544,000. Night Squared LP purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth $6,067,000. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 57.2% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,823 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 178.2% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 100,518 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $36,844,000 after purchasing an additional 64,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 720 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. 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 report on Friday, August 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $534.75.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $492.73 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's 50-day moving average is $498.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $427.60. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 1 year low of $309.01 and a 1 year high of $538.59.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.75. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 48.78% and a net margin of 10.31%.The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect 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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