Patton Fund Management Inc. Sells 8,366 Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management cut its Ulta Beauty stake by 62.8% in the first quarter, selling 8,366 shares and leaving it with 4,946 shares valued at about $2.6 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 90.39% of Ulta Beauty shares. Several firms added to or initiated positions in the retailer during recent quarters.
• Ulta reported strong quarterly results, beating estimates on both earnings and revenue, while analysts mostly kept bullish ratings despite lowering some price targets. The stock opened at $488.45, well below its 52-week high of $714.97.

Patton Fund Management Inc. lowered its position in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 62.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,946 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 8,366 shares during the quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $2,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth approximately $430,963,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 135.6% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,506 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,744 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,009,000. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 42.7% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 6,996 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,233,000 after purchasing an additional 2,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 222.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,163 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $14,014,000 after acquiring an additional 15,985 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total transaction of $243,759.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,285,128.07. The trade was a 15.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on ULTA. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Ulta Beauty from $741.00 to $652.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $750.00 to $650.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Ulta Beauty from $700.00 to $630.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $750.00 to $631.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised Ulta Beauty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $685.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $638.09.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

NASDAQ ULTA opened at $488.45 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.86. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a twelve month low of $448.57 and a twelve month high of $714.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $503.08 and a 200 day moving average of $577.40.

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

Ulta Beauty Company 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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