North Growth Management Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

North Growth Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 15.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Ulta Beauty accounts for 1.8% of North Growth Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. North Growth Management Ltd. owned 0.05% of Ulta Beauty worth $8,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ULTA. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,068,000 after buying an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,762 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,331,000 after buying an additional 2,294 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 55.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 214 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,973 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,663,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 94.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,429.12. The trade was a 10.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $380.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Argus downgraded Ulta Beauty from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $542.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $437.00 target price (up previously from $386.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $462.22.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

NASDAQ ULTA opened at $473.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.09. The business's 50 day moving average price is $417.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $398.50. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $309.01 and a fifty-two week high of $491.98.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The specialty retailer reported $6.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.73 by $0.97. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 49.73% and a net margin of 10.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current year.

About Ulta Beauty

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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