Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 712,323 Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Ulta Beauty, buying 712,323 shares valued at about $431 million. The position represents roughly 1.61% of the company.
• Ulta Beauty reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $8.01 versus the $7.93 estimate and revenue of $3.90 billion, up 11.8% year over year. The company also kept its FY2026 EPS guidance at 28.05 to 28.55.
• The stock was trading near $500.77, well below its 52-week high of $714.97, while analysts remained mixed overall with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $687.95. Barclays recently downgraded the stock to strong sell, even as other firms kept bullish targets.

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 712,323 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $430,963,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.61% of Ulta Beauty as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ULTA. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4,200.0% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 43 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the third quarter worth $31,000. BOKF NA bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2,550.0% during the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 53 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total value of $243,759.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,285,128.07. The trade was a 15.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock opened at $500.77 on Tuesday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 12 month low of $452.00 and a 12 month high of $714.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $525.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $585.92. The stock has a market cap of $21.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.86.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.08. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 9.31%.The business had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.46 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.050-28.550 EPS. Analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays downgraded Ulta Beauty from an "overweight" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore set a $725.00 target price on Ulta Beauty in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $750.00 to $650.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $687.95.

Ulta Beauty Profile

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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