Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 1,806 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 193.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,738 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,806 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Edge Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 35.6% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 118 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 0.3%

Ulta Beauty stock traded down $1.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $465.64. 601,489 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,049,972. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.09. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a one year low of $309.01 and a one year high of $491.98. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $394.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $391.91.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The specialty retailer reported $6.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.73 by $0.97. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 51.95%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.47 EPS. Ulta Beauty's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,429.12. This represents a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ULTA. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $327.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target (up from $450.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, May 30th. Argus downgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $465.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $440.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $460.91.

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.