Pacer Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. nearly tripled its Ulta Beauty stake in the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 198.7% to 10,707 shares valued at about $6.48 million.
• Other large institutional investors also added to their positions, and overall 90.39% of Ulta’s stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Ulta’s latest earnings topped expectations, with EPS of $7.74 and revenue of $3.16 billion, while analysts still rate the stock a Moderate Buy despite multiple price-target cuts.

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 198.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,707 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 7,122 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $6,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,376,848 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,253,047,000 after buying an additional 23,434 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,025,565 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,225,487,000 after acquiring an additional 50,305 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 1,263,820 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $690,994,000 after acquiring an additional 103,540 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,240,210 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $747,587,000 after acquiring an additional 21,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 974,223 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $589,415,000 after acquiring an additional 2,463 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $700.00 to $630.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $712.00 to $647.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $750.00 to $631.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $750.00 to $650.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised Ulta Beauty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $685.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $638.09.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Ulta Beauty stock opened at $456.13 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $508.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $580.50. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 12-month low of $448.57 and a 12-month high of $714.97. The stock has a market cap of $19.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.86.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $7.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $0.85. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 44.77%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.70 EPS. Ulta Beauty's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.360-28.800 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,285,128.07. This represents a 15.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Ulta Beauty

Here are the key news stories impacting Ulta Beauty this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ulta was highlighted as one of three growth stocks worth buying now, with commentary pointing to its strong brand, customer acquisition, and expansion into new brands and experiences. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks article said Ulta is pushing its fragrance business through innovation, exclusive brands, and new launches, signaling a potentially important growth category for the retailer. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Ulta launched a new NielsenIQ study on Gen Alpha and AI-powered beauty discovery, reinforcing its focus on personalization and next-generation beauty shopping trends. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Klarna is expanding its retail footprint with an Ulta Beauty deal suggest Ulta continues to deepen partnerships that could improve checkout flexibility and customer reach. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles revisited Ulta’s Q1 results and stock performance versus other retail names; these pieces were more evaluative than catalytic and did not appear to introduce a new major surprise. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage from Yahoo comparing Ulta with other retail stocks was informational rather than clearly stock-moving. Article Title

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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