Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $143.38 Million Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 3.2% in Q4 to 236,983 shares, representing a 0.53% ownership valued at about $143.38 million at quarter-end.
• Ulta beat quarterly expectations with EPS $8.01 and revenue of $3.90 billion (up 11.8% YoY), and set FY2026 guidance at $28.050–28.550 EPS.
• Research firms show a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target price of $674.23, after several upgrades and target adjustments.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 236,983 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 7,380 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.53% of Ulta Beauty worth $143,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 167.3% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 13,603 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $8,230,000 after purchasing an additional 8,514 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 41,970 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,393,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,376,848 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,253,047,000 after purchasing an additional 23,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marathon Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total value of $243,759.08. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ULTA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Monday, April 20th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Argus upped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $775.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $635.00 to $700.00 in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $674.23.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $539.66 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $583.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $587.95. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $377.58 and a fifty-two week high of $714.97.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.81 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.46 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.050-28.550 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.4 earnings per share for the current year.

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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