Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Has $2.68 Million Stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. has significantly reduced its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. by 76% during the first quarter, now owning only 7,300 shares worth approximately $2.68 million.
• Ulta Beauty's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $5.78 per share against a consensus estimate of $5.03, with revenue reaching $2.79 billion, a 9.3% increase year-over-year.
• Several brokerages have recently adjusted their target prices for Ulta Beauty, with estimates ranging from $510.00 to $650.00, indicating a generally positive outlook among analysts.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. decreased its position in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 76.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,300 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 23,100 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $2,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth approximately $663,000. Interval Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2,962.9% during the 1st quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 191,828 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $70,313,000 after buying an additional 185,565 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 120.9% during the 1st quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 60,874 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $22,313,000 after buying an additional 33,319 shares during the last quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $428,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 139.1% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 174,874 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $64,098,000 after purchasing an additional 101,737 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ ULTA traded down $5.96 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $513.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 699,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 916,039. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $505.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $434.13. The firm has a market cap of $23.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.06. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52 week low of $309.01 and a 52 week high of $539.00.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owned 2,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,195,837.09. The trade was a 18.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ULTA. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $650.00 target price on Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $605.00 target price (up previously from $580.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $543.13.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

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.