Montag A & Associates Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 43.4% in Q3 to 5,201 shares worth $2.844 million, and several other institutional investors also added or initiated positions, leaving institutional ownership at 90.39%.
• Analysts have been raising targets—UBS to $780 and Oppenheimer to $750—and the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $626.84.
• Ulta reported a quarterly earnings beat with EPS of $5.14 vs. $4.61 expected and revenue of $2.86 billion vs. $2.70 billion, with revenue up 12.9% year-over-year and a return on equity of 46.33%.

Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,201 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $2,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 139.4% during the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,676 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,024,000. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 459 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Accuvest Global Advisors acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $249,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,430 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,806,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ULTA shares. Robert W. Baird set a $700.00 price objective on Ulta Beauty in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $690.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $606.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $626.84.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $661.34 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $662.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $582.01. The company has a market capitalization of $29.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.82. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 1 year low of $309.01 and a 1 year high of $714.97.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.61 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 46.33% and a net margin of 9.93%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc NASDAQ: ULTA is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and beauty services provider focused on cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, bath and body, and beauty tools. The company operates a dual-format business that combines brick-and-mortar retail stores with an e-commerce platform, offering a broad assortment of national, prestige and mass-market brands alongside its own private-label products. In many locations Ulta also provides full-service salon treatments, positioning the company as a one-stop destination for product discovery and in-store services.

The retailer's product mix spans color cosmetics, haircare and styling products, skin and body care, fragrance, and accessories, catering to a wide range of consumer preferences and price points.

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