National Pension Service Trims Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• National Pension Service cut its Ulta Beauty stake by 68.5% in the second quarter, selling 73,695 shares and retaining 33,858 shares valued at approximately $15.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.39% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $624.57, despite several firms lowering their targets.
• Ulta Beauty reported quarterly earnings of $6.55 per share, beating estimates of $6.22, while revenue rose 8.9% year over year to $3.04 billion. The stock opened at $546.78, up 2.1%.

National Pension Service trimmed its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 68.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,858 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 73,695 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.08% of Ulta Beauty worth $15,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Optimize Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 1,176 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 12.1% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 167 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL now owns 394 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 555 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 6,455 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,905,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $725.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $700.00 to $630.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $648.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $647.00 to $645.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $624.57.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 2.1%

ULTA stock opened at $546.78 on Friday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52-week low of $443.60 and a 52-week high of $714.97. The firm has a market cap of $23.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $514.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $525.15.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.22 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 45.40% and a net margin of 9.34%.Ulta Beauty's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.78 EPS. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.700-29.000 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 383 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.84, for a total value of $182,246.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,404 shares in the company, valued at $1,143,919.36. The trade was a 13.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc is a specialty beauty retailer operating under the Ulta Beauty brand. The company sells a broad selection of cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrance, bath and body products, and beauty tools across a range of price points. Its merchandise includes both established brands and private-label products, as well as prestige, mass-market and professional beauty offerings.

In addition to retail sales, Ulta Beauty provides services through salon locations within many of its stores, including hair, skin and brow services.

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