Optimize Financial Inc Grows Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Optimize Financial Inc increased its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. by 47.8% in the first quarter, bringing their total shares to 2,031, valued at approximately $744,000.
• Ulta Beauty reported $5.78 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates of $5.03 and showing a 9.3% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.79 billion.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $543.13 for Ulta, with 14 analysts rating the stock as a Buy, and several firms adjusting their price targets upwards following recent earnings.

Optimize Financial Inc boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 47.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,031 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the quarter. Optimize Financial Inc's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 218.5% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 86 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 71.4% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 96 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ULTA. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ulta Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Ulta Beauty in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $590.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $543.13.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of ULTA stock traded up $6.42 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $521.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 462,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 893,336. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.06. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a one year low of $309.01 and a one year high of $539.00. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $508.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $436.33.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 48.78% and a net margin of 10.31%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total value of $264,215.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,195,837.09. This trade represents a 18.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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.